By PTI
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Monday claimed that his chopper was not allowed to fly to Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar because areas were declared as no-fly zones amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state.
Channi was to attend a poll rally along with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi at Hoshiarpur.
Gandhi was to attend a second rally alone in Gurdaspur which he attended.
PM Modi came to Jalandhar to address his first physical rally for the February 20 Punjab polls.
Channi claimed that the permission given to his chopper to fly to Hoshiarpur from Chandigarh was cancelled.
Channi was to fly to Hoshiarpur in a chopper shortly after addressing a press conference in Chandigarh to attend a poll rally there with Rahul Gandhi.
“I had to fly at 11 am and I sat in the chopper. Suddenly I was told that the permission (for flying) has been cancelled and I could not go there,” the chief minister told reporters here.
“My four hours got wasted. I could not attend Rahul Gandhi’s rally because the clearance was not given,” he said.
He added that he was denied permission to fly as the area was made no flying zone because of the PM’s visit.
Replying to a question, Channi claimed he had permission for flying and landing at Hoshiarpur which was later withdrawn.
“People know everything about what politics they are playing with me,” he said.
The CM later went to Sujanpur in Pathankot for an election-related programme.
Channi, however, later complained that he was again denied permission to fly from Sujanpur to Jalandhar where he was to attend another poll-related programme.
Then he travelled by road from Sujanpur to reach Jalandhar for attending a programme.
He told a TV channel separately that he was the state’s chief minister and not a terrorist.
“Why was I being stopped in such a way? What conspiracy is this? What politics is this?” he asked.
He alleged that the reason for stopping him from flying was “purely political.”
He said he had to travel through the road to reach Jalandhar.
Notably, a month after he cut short his Punjab visit due to a security breach in Ferozepur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said in Jalandhar that he was unable to pay a visit to a temple there as local authorities could not make necessary arrangements.
“Such is the situation of the government in Punjab,” the prime minister said addressing a poll rally in Jalandhar while attacking the Congress party.
The Prime Minister said he would come to Jalandhar again and pay his obeisance at the Devi Talab Mandir.
Modi was addressing a poll rally in person in Jalandhar, his first in Punjab after January 5 when he had to return from the state without attending any event, including a public meeting, after his convoy got stuck on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur.
Recalling his 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign as the BJP’s PM candidate, he said his plane was not allowed to fly as “the Congress’ namdar and its yuvraj (prince), who was just an MP,” had a programme near Amritsar.
“I got delayed by more than an hour in reaching Pathankot. When I reached Pathankot, my helicopter was not allowed to fly. Why? Because their yuvraj was visiting some other place in Punjab,” Modi said in an apparent reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
“Such misuse of power used to happen for one family. In 2014, my helicopter could not fly after sunset. My two programmes in Himachal Pradesh at that time had to be cancelled. It has been the deeds of the Congress to stop its opponents. For the last 50 years, it has been doing this against its rivals,” he said as he took a dig at the Gandhis.
A month after he cut short his Punjab visit due to a security breach in Ferozepur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said he was unable to pay a visit to a temple here as local authorities could not make necessary arrangements.
Such is the situation of the government in Punjab, the prime minister said while hitting out at the Congress, and asserted that he will come to Jalandhar again and pay obeisance at the Devi Talab Mandir.
Modi was addressing a physical poll rally in Jalandhar, his first in Punjab since January 5 when he returned from the state without attending any event, including a public meeting, after his convoy got stuck on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur.
The prime minister said it was his desire to pay obeisance at the Devi Talab Mandir, but the police and the administration here said they will not be able to make arrangements”.
“They said you leave by helicopter, such is the situation of the government here. But I will come here again and pay obeisance at the temple,” said Modi as he addressed the gathering ahead of the February 20 polls to the 117-member state assembly.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi claimed that his helicopter was not allowed to fly for Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar because of the no-fly zone declared in the wake of Modi’s visit.
Channi was to attend a poll rally by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at Hoshiarpur.
At his rally, the prime minister mocked the Congress over the infighting in its Punjab unit and said the party is “disintegrating” and its leaders are exposing it.
Referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, he said the Congress instead of punishing the culprits, had rewarded them with ministerial positions, and it was the BJP government that put them in jail.
The Congress has deep animosity with Punjab and Punjabis, and creates thousands of obstacles for those who want to work, he said, adding history is witness that the Congress can never work for Punjab.
Asserting that the BJP-led alliance will form the next government in the state, he said a new chapter of development will start and it will make all efforts to give the people a brighter future.
“In Punjab, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will form government. In Punjab, a new chapter of development will start. I want to assure people, especially the youth, that for their brighter future, we will not leave any stone unturned,” said Modi, who had on February 8 addressed a virtual rally for the polls.
The country is moving ahead with the pledge of a new India and it can be realised when there will be a “Nawa Punjab”, he said.
It will be that “Nawa Punjab in which traditions and development will go together, one which will be free from debt and full of opportunities, where every Dalit will get respect and honour and at every step there will be equal opportunity, that Nawa Punjab where there will be no scope for corruption and mafia, and rule of law will prevail,” he said.
On the Congress infighting, Modi asked the gathering if those who fight among themselves can give a stable government.
The Congress policies have destroyed industries and affected employment in Punjab, he said.
He also attacked the AAP, saying some people have come here to play a game of lies and they talk about making Punjab drugs free but are experts in opening liquor vends on streets.
Recalling his 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign as the BJP’s PM candidate, he said his plane was not allowed to fly as “the Congress’ namdar and its yuvraj (prince), who was just an MP,” had a programme near Amritsar.
“I got delayed by more than an hour in reaching Pathankot. When I reached Pathankot, my helicopter was not allowed to fly. Why? Because their yuvraj was visiting some other place in Punjab,” Modi said in an apparent reference to Rahul Gandhi.
“Such misuse of power used to happen for one family. In 2014, my helicopter could not fly after sunset. My two programmes in Himachal Pradesh at that time had to be cancelled. It has been the deeds of the Congress to stop its opponents. For the last 50 years, it has been doing this against its rivals,” he said as he took a dig at the Gandhis.
The BJP is contesting the elections in alliance with Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt).
Dhindsa and Singh were also present at the rally.
Punjab is a border state and its security and peace is necessary for India’s unity and integrity.
Hence, Punjab needs a strong government that can take serious steps for its and India’s security, he said.
Referring to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Modi, without naming her, said she recently said Singh did not listen to the party and instead worked with the Centre.
She had on Sunday at a rally said the Singh-led Punjab government had to be replaced as it was being run by the BJP and the BJP government from Delhi.
“This is a clear admission of trying to remote control the state government,” Modi said, adding Singh worked with the Centre in true spirit of federalism, but when he refused to take the “family’s diktats”, it removed him.
Singh was removed by the Congress as CM last year, and later after quitting the party, he formed the PLC.
He was replaced by Channi.
“There may be any (party’s) government in states, but we believe in the federal structure and it is the duty of the Centre to work for a state’s welfare. But if any family tries to run governments by remote control and not care about the Constitution, then it will create tension in the country. This family is doing just that,” he said.
Modi said the Congress is getting punishment for its deeds.
The BJP has kept Punjab’s interest above its coalition rights, he said and pointed out that in 2007, the SAD fell short of majority and the government would not have been possible without the BJP’s support.
He said the coalition norms demanded that the deputy CM be from the BJP.
“But Badal Sahab (Parkash Singh Badal) instead made his son (Sukhbir Badal) the deputy CM and the BJP accepted it in the interest of Punjab,” Modi said.