Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], March 14 : Punjab Minister Balbir Singh has hit out at Home Minister Amit Shah over his allegations against the AAP government concerning religious conversions in Punjab and said the BJP leadership should be concerned about laws in states ruled by the party.
He said the Punjab government will tackle the issue of religious conversions.
"Ask him why he hasn't done it in Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh?... We'll put an end to it in Punjab. They don't need to worry about it here. Let them handle Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra--where there's double-engine government... The BJP's politics is based on religious conversion and infiltration. Here they couldn't raise the infiltration issue, so they went off talking about religious conversion," Balbir Singh said.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday slammed the AAP government in Punjab over "religious conversions" and said if a BJP government is formed in the state, the first Bill it will bring will be to ban "religious conversions".
Addressing "Badlav Rally" here, Home Minister also slammed the Congress and said the problem of terrorism in the border state had started during its rule.
He also slammed the Congress for settling for the inclusion of Karatarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan when the border was being drawn between the two countries. He said the Modi government has constructed the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.
"You (Congress government) had resorted to tank fire on Akal Takht. It was during the Congress rule that terrorism erupted, there was strife and conflict erupted between Sikhs and Hindus. The development of Punjab is impossible without Sikh-Hindu unity, and such unity can only be achieved under the leadership of Narendra Modi. Today, the entire state of Punjab is grappling with the issue of religious conversions. I urge people to elect the BJP government here. The very first bill we will introduce in Punjab will ban religious conversions," Amit Shah said.
He accused AAP and Congress of having "facilitated" religious conversions "in their pursuit of vote bank politics". Amit Shah said the BJP is fighting the elections to form the government in 2027 in Punjab. "Only the BJP government can make Punjab free from drugs...Punjab has collapsed due to the terror of gangsters, debt, religious conversions, corruption," he said.
"We have removed Article 370 from Kashmir. Today, Naxalism is also on the brink of extinction. That is why a double-engine BJP government is essential here to free Punjab from drugs and provide employment to the youth," he added.
The Home Minister also criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the AAP leadership, alleging that the state government was functioning under the influence of leaders from Delhi.
"The Aam Aadmi Party came to power on the promise of change. I want to ask the leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party: What exactly is your Chief Minister doing? Across the entire country, wherever Kejriwal needs to travel, this Chief Minister has done nothing other than chartering aircraft at the Punjab government's expense and flying him there as his personal pilot," Shah said.
He further accused the AAP leadership of misusing Punjab's resources. "The Chief Minister of this state should hang his head in shame. Four 'subedars' have arrived from Delhi, and they are looting Punjab's wealth only to siphon it back to Delhi," he alleged.