PHAGWARA: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh Badal has likened Prime minister Narendra Modi to former US President Abraham Lincoln.
Addressing party activists at the residence of SAD vice- president Jarnail Singh Wahid here and an election rally at Kartarpur May 10, Badal said that the rise of Modi from a tea seller to Prime Minister was like that of Lincoln who strode from a log hut to White House.
The former Punjab CM said: “I have seen two people in the world rising so high – one is former US President Lincoln. About him, ‘Log Cabin to the White House’ is famous. The other is Modi who was serving tea and is now the PM of the country after remaining CM of Gujarat for four times.”
Badal said that Modi will not only be the next prime minister but will remain so till the god gave him health and strength to serve country.
However, he called Congress party president Rahul Gandhi incompetent and inexperienced.
Claiming only Modi could provide a stable government, Badal said an inexperienced leader like Rahul Gandhi would not be able to lead country.
Badal alleged that the Congress party was the enemy of Punjabis and Sikhs.
“I am 93 years old, having 70 years experience of politics. I have seen all Prime Ministers. Congress PMs, especially the three Prime ministers of the dynasty, including Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi and Indira’s son Rajiv Gandhi hated Punjabis, particularly Sikhs,” he said.
“While Nehru opposed carving out of linguistic Punjabi Suba and deprived the state of Punjabi speaking areas, Indira ordered infamous Blue Star Operation, desecrating Golden temple, demolishing Akal Takht Sahib and filling sacred ‘sarovar’ with blood of the innocents. Rajiv was responsible for 1984 Sikh carnage”.
Badal said that n the contrary, the BJP’s two Prime Ministers Atal Behari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi loved Punjabis, especially Sikhs.
He made special mention of the SIT set up by Modi for punishing Congress leaders responsible for 1984 massacre of Sikhs as well as steps to open the Kartarpur Sahib corridor for allowing Sikhs to have ‘darshan’ of Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib across India-Pakistan border.
At a rally in Hoshiarpur, Badal went to the extent of calling Modi ‘Narinder Singh Modi’ in presence of the Prime Minister himself.
Citing an example, he said during the emergency clamped by Indira Gandhi, Modi went underground and worked for his party in Punjab.
Badal also chanted ‘Modi Modi’ thrice, making the audience to do the same in unison after him.
At Wahid’s sprawling residence, Badal asked all Akali workers to ensure victory of BJP-SAD Hoshiarpur candidate Som Parkash.
District Youth Akali Dal president Ranjit Singh Khurana, Phagwara Corporation senior deputy mayor Surinder Singh Walia presented bouquets to Badal.
Besides Wahid, others present, included councillors Sarabjit Kaur and Baljinder Singh Thekedar.
Badal also visited the house of Sardanas here and condoled the demise of I.K .Sardana, an industrial magnate, educationist and philanthropist.
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