Modi seeks vote citing threat to national security

Citing concerns on the national security front, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said a weak and callous government in Punjab will plunge the entire nation into a crisis given the vulnerability of Punjab’s borders to terror from Pakistan. Modi said this at a rally seeking votes for the SAD-BJP alliance ahead of Assembly elections on February 4. The prime minister said Pakistan waits for an opportunity to use Punjab soil to destabilise India.

In an oblique reference to the AAP he said, “If we form a bahari (outsider) government or an aaram pasand (easygoing) government here, it will not only damage Punjab but will push the entire nation into crisis.”

In an attempt to dilute the anti-incumbency against the ruling Akali-BJP combine, Modi said the Congress-led Manmohan Singh government at the Centre did not let the Badal government function properly for eight years.

 “I thought that with a Sardar PM and a Sardar CM, Punjab would get everything, but for eight years the Congress created hurdles for the Badal government to function,” he said.

The prime minister accused the Congress of labelling Sikhs and Punjabis first as terrorists during the dark days of militancy and later as drug addicts.