'Give BJP a chance in Punjab too': HM Shah appeals in show of strength in Moga

Moga (Punjab), March 14 (IANS) In a major show of strength in Punjab's Moga, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday appealed to the people of the state to give one chance to the BJP to serve them.

Donning a turban, Home Minister Shah, who reached Killi Chalan village near here for the party’s ‘Badlav Rally’ to sound the poll bugle, said many chances were given to the Congress, the Akalis and AAP and “give one chance to BJP, and it will bring change in Punjab”.

A confidant Shah said the party got 19 per cent of the vote in the 2024 elections, a clear indication to form the next government in Punjab too. He indicated that the BJP will go solo in Punjab in the next Assembly elections.

Saying the people are fed up with the corruption and misgovernance of the AAP government and seek change, the Home Minister said the BJP would form the government in Punjab on the pattern of Odisha, Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Uttarakhand.

“Now is the turn of Punjab,” he said. “The Aam Aadmi Party came to power promising change, but I want to ask the leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party -- What is your Chief Minister doing? Wherever Arvind Kejriwal has to go across the country, he travels by plane at the expense of the Punjab government, while the Chief Minister here has done nothing else,” he alleged.

Shah said the AAP had promised 25 lakh jobs, a drug?free Punjab and minimum support price (MSP) for all crops, but failed on all counts. “This is a government of broken promises, neck?deep in corruption and indulging in scams. It can never do any good for Punjab,” he said.

He further alleged that the Punjab government had been reduced to an “ATM” for Arvind Kejriwal. “If anyone can stop the drug trade, it is only the BJP,” he said.

Beginning his address with religious and patriotic slogans, Shah paid tributes to Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, on his 350th martyrdom anniversary. He said the BJP always approaches the people of Punjab as “younger brothers” and seeks their blessings.

Stating that the BJP would contest the 2027 elections to form the government, Shah appealed to mothers, sisters and elders to strengthen the party. “If anyone can free Punjab from drugs and provide employment to the youth, it is only Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP,” he said.

Citing the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and the decline of Naxalism, Shah said a “double?engine government” was needed in Punjab to eliminate drugs and ensure development.