CHANDIGARH, November 26 — The Aam Aadmi Party slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers on Wednesday for skipping state-organised events marking the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, saying the Centre “showed no respect” despite formal invitations.
Punjab AAP president and state minister Aman Arora said the state government had invited the Prime Minister and all central ministers for the commemorations. “We waited till November 25 hoping they might join,” Arora told reporters.
The Punjab government had held a special Vidhan Sabha session, nagar kirtans, kirtan darbars, inter-faith meets, and light, sound and drone shows across November 23–25.
Arora said Modi chose to attend a Haryana government event in Kurukshetra on Tuesday but did not visit Anandpur Sahib, “barely a 12–15-minute flight away.” “The Prime Minister and his entire leadership should be ashamed for not coming to bow before Guru Tegh Bahadur,” he said.
He said the BJP “never misses a chance to project Modi as Vishwaguru,” but “could not come to the actual Vishwa De Guru.” “We can well imagine how much they hate Punjab, Punjabiyat and the Sikh community,” Arora alleged.
Arora added that he personally invited Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also wrote to him seeking his presence at the state events.
