Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly playing “dirty politics” over the commemoration of Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Taking a strong exception to Prime Minister Modi’s remarks on him in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua during a rally, the Chief Minister said the Centre had deliberately chosen to hold a parallel event instead of supporting the initiatives and programmes of the state government.
This came after Prime Minister Modi earlier in the day said Captain Amarinder did not get time to attend the government’s Jallianwala Bagh event with Vice President Venkaiah Naidu as he was busy with
‘Parivar Bhakti.’
The jibe comes a day after Captain Amarinder accompanied Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to the Jallianwala Bagh memorial on the centenary commemoration of the massacre.
Countering PM Modi’s attack, Captain Amarinder said: “He had personally approached the Prime Minister several times over the last two years, seeking his support for ensuring that the centenary of Jallianwala Bagh martyrdom is observed in a befitting manner but the Centre failed to respond suitably.”
“Instead, the NDA government decided to hold its own event, quite evidently to score brownie political points in the backdrop of the Lok Sabha elections. This was truly shocking considering the fact that the Prime Minister was chairman of the Jallianwala Bagh Trust,” he added.
“Shocked at your remarks in Kathua on Jallianwala Bagh @narendramodi Ji. You used a somber occasion to play dirty politics, conveniently ignoring your own government’s decision to hold a parallel event instead of extending support to my govt, which we’d been requesting for 2 yrs,” the Chief Minister tweeted.
“It was not befitting the stature of the country’s minister to stoop to such a low in order to woo voters,” the Chief Minister said, urging Modi to refrain from demeaning the high office to which the people of this great free nation had elected him.
Captain Amarinder also urged the Prime Minister not to exploit the martyrdom of the victims of the violence unleashed by the British during the freedom struggle, or of the soldiers who are dying every day at the borders or in ISI-backed terror attacks such as Pulwama, for furthering his and his party’s political ambitions.
Criticising Prime Minister for trying to mislead the people with politically motivated falsehoods, the Punjab Chief Minister said: “It was Modi who had insulted the bravehearts of Jallianwala Bagh, first by not being present at any of the commemorative events and then by choosing to politicise the occasion.”
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]