Harish RawatStarting his two-day Punjab tour on Monday from Ludhiana, AICC general secretary and Punjab affairs incharge Harish Rawat said that the NDA-led Central government was doing injustice against Punjab by not reopening Kartarpur Corridor and not resuming goods trains in the state.
Rawat, who participated in a protest organised by Mahila Congress at Ludhiana against ‘crime against Dalit women under BJP rule’, told the media, “The NDA-led Central government wants that farmers of Punjab should bow in front of them and give up their protest despite having genuine demands. But the government is forgetting that in a democracy, people are the supreme power. Farmers are the people, our own people and instead of finding a solution through talks, Central government is trying to kill their protest and wants them to bow. We are thankful to farmers that after listening to our CM (Captain Amarinder Singh), they vacated the tracks for goods trains but the Central government is still not resuming trains which is hurting Punjab’s economy.”
Rawat added, “PM Narendra Modi should have ensured that his Railways Minister came to Punjab and spoke to the farmers personally. Some solution should have been found out. Congress has decided that we will support and stand with the farmers till the end, till they don’t get justice. We are all for a democratic and peaceful solution to the problem in a way that farmers are also heard and Punjab’s economy is also not affected. But not running trains is complete injustice against Punjab.”
Commenting on the Kartarpur Corridor still not made operational from Indian side amid pandemic, Rawat said, “Government of India never liked it earlier also why the Kartarpur Corridor was opened at all. Now also, it doesn’t want that it should open again. Pakistan has been doing one or the other notorious activities for long, it will do the same at Kartarpur also but we have a solution to it. We can tackle Pakistan. On behalf of Punjab government, I can say that we will not let any such elements take advantage of Kartarpur Corridor who are a threat to country’s unity and integrity. But just because they have something against Pakistan, Central government is not reopening Kartarpur Corridor. Keeping in mind the sentiments of the Sikhs across the world and to respect them, Kartarpur Corridor should be made operational at the earliest, especially when Punjab government is taking all the required security measures. Not making Kartarpur Corridor operational again is injustice.”
Rawat also said that the Punjab government led by Captain has waged a war against drugs in the state. “We do not believe in any propaganda over the drug issue. Government is doing its job and drug smugglers are being caught. It is about future of our children,” Rawat said.
While participating in the protest organised by Mahila Congress on the issue of crime against Dalit women, Rawat said that crime against women, especially Dalits, is showing an upward trend under the BJP and especially in the BJP-ruled states. He also directed the party’s women’s wing head to form ‘Kirtan Mandlis’ (devotional singing groups) and increase party’s interaction with the common people. Rawat said that soon party’s women wing will also have a separate Youth Wing (Mahila Congress Yuva Wing) to give a political platform to the young women and respect women power.