Amarinder hits back at Modi for 'politicising' Jallianwala tragedy

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of playing "dirty politics" after the PM claimed that the Congress leader skipped an official event marking the Jallianwala Bagh massacre's centenary as he was busy in "Congress parivar's bhakti".

Singh alleged that the central government had deliberately chosen to hold a "parallel event" instead of supporting the initiatives and programmes of the state government.

The event was organised in Amritsar on Saturday by the Centre and it was attended by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. Singh claimed in a statement that he had personally approached the prime minister several times over the last two years to seek support for ensuring that the occasion is commemorated in a befitting manner but the Centre had failed to respond suitably.

"Instead, the Modi government decided to hold its own event, quite evidently to score political brownie points in the backdrop of the Lok Sabha elections," he alleged.

"This was truly shocking considering that the prime minister is the chairman of the Jallianwala Bagh Trust," Singh said. Congress president Rahul Gandhi and the chief minister had on Saturday morning paid floral tributes at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial in Amritsar.

On Saturday afternoon, M Venkaiah Naidu visited Jallianwala Bagh and paid tributes to those killed in the massacre on April 13, 1919. The ceremony was organised by the Union Ministry of Culture. Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore and Punjab Cabinet Minister O P Soni were among others present at the function held in the afternoon.

At a poll rally on Sunday in J&K's Kathua, Modi said Singh boycotted the function because he was busy in "Congress parivar's bhakti (appeasing the Gandhi family)".