Islamo-fascist Pakistan that continues to sponsor terrorism has now found a friendly voice in the Punjab Congress with two of its leaders Navjot Singh Sidhu and Punjab CM Channi pushing for resuming trade ties with the Islamic neighbor.
Sidhu, Channi want trade with Pakistan
Recently, both the Punjab Pradesh Congress President and the state’s CM (Chief Minister) called for reopening trade ties with Pakistan. Sidhu had earlier backed Attari trade following which Channi announced that he would take up the issue with the centre.
ToI reported on the development:
Channi, who was here on Monday to attend the 15th edition of the Punjab International Trade Expo (PITEX), announced that he would write to the Centre on the issue. He said he would also seek an appointment with Union home minister Amit Shah for opening trade with neighbouring Pakistan via Attari land border.
Like Sidhu, he also asked if the trade could be carried by the sea route, why it could not be permitted through the land route.
On December 4, Sidhu had favoured the opening of the traditional Silken route with Pakistan via Attari for meteoric economic growth of Punjab. He had also asked if trade could happen between Mumbai and Karachi, then why not from Punjab to Lahore, Pakistan.
Sidhu’s love for Pakistan is hardly surprising considering the fact that he had recently referred to the Pakistan PM Imran Khan as ‘elder brother’. This was not the first time he demonstrated a profound love for leaders of the nation that sponsors terrorism against Bharat. It might be recalled that during the course of an earlier visit to Islamic nation, he had hugged Pakistani Army Chief General Bajwa, drawing flak from several quarters.
Sidhu’s ‘brotherly love’ comes at the cost of being blind to the plight of Pakistani Hindu minorities and ignoring Hindu sentiments despite the fact that it has been the Hindu majority that has lauded his ‘achievements’ as a cricketer.
A nation that is stoking Khalistani separatism is being seen as a friend by the Congress government of Punjab. This is an indicator of how flawed our multi-party democracy is, a sub-optimal system that allows dubious players to grab power and hurt national interest. No wonder the Channi-led Punjab government passed a resolution recently opposing a central government order to increase the Border Security Force’s jurisdiction in the border states from 15 km to 50 km.
When a CM puts politics above national security, it certainly doesn’t augur well for the nation. Channi also opposed the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution that was inserted by Nehru to temporarily give special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing a special session of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, Channi said that by removing the special status from J&K, the Center had ‘violated’ the rights of the states.
Election sops by Channi
Election time has become a race among the political parties to woo voters with a series of sops rather than providing a long-term vision and promising good governance. Among the many sops, Channi has assured auto-rickshaw drivers that their challans would be waived off. While Sidhu opined that election sops offered by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would ’empty the coffers’ of Punjab, his own party has also been doing the same.
AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal also announced a series of poll promises including free education for children, free coaching for IAS, Medical and IIT, free foreign education for college students, free medical service, Rs 1000 per month for women above 18 years. In early November, Kejriwal promised ‘free pilgrimage’ to the four religious places of Ayodhya, Shirdi, Velankanni and Ajmer Sharif if their party is voted to power in Goa.
Democracy has created misplaced priorities not just among the political parties but also among the voters who are content with such freebies rather than demanding accountability and good governance from those being elected. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that sentiments of the people are hardly respected by those who grab power.
(Featured Image Source: Hindustan Times)
