It started with a light drizzle on Tuesday night and clouds formed at 11 am on Wednesday. Narendra ModiFirozpur’s rally venue was clearly threatening to reduce BJPA display of strength to a dull affair. In no time, it was raining heavily at the meeting place, lined with empty chairs and a thin crowd.
There were only a few umbrellas in the crowd, despite the fact that the organizers already knew about the rain warnings. While the stage was waterproof, a few hundred people in the crowd were seen using chairs and PM’s cutouts to dodge the rain.
Amidst all this, former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and State BJP President Ashwini Sharma gave brief speeches. However, the crowd was not informed that the Prime Minister would not be coming to the venue.
Amarinder Sharma, who reached the venue by noon, was present on the dais along with BJP general secretary Jeevan Gupta, Union minister and in-charge of Punjab affairs Gajendra Shekhawat and a few others.
The rally formally began at 1.45 pm with a welcome speech for life amid heavy rains. By this time, the PM had already backtracked after deciding to miss the rally due to a security breach.
As Amarinder began his address, he did not mention the change in the PM’s plan, but said: “We all were waiting for the rain for the last two months, it finally rained. It is good for the crops and we think PM’s visit has brought this rain for the farmers.
He also targeted the Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi He said that apart from making promises, he did not get anything. He reiterated that he has fulfilled 92 per cent of his promises as the Chief Minister of Punjab.
“(Punjab Congress President) Navjot Sidhu and other Congress leaders hold press conferences and say that they will put forth the achievements of their five years of rule, but on the other hand they mislead people that I have not done anything. Sidhu says that Congress will go to the people with the report card of five years. If I haven’t done anything, what report card will he go out with? People understand their lies and know about the achievements of my government.
The veteran politician also said that 1.6 lakh people got government jobs during his tenure, and 20 lakh people in the private sector.
Sharma repeatedly said in his speech that BJP workers could not reach the venue as they were stuck due to protests by “people backed by the Congress government”.
“At many places, our workers were assaulted. Due to this he could not reach the venue. Nevertheless, I salute the spirit of those who were facing bad weather and rain.”
Punjab BJP general secretary Subhash Sharma told Indian Express: “It was state sponsored anarchy. This is really an example of ‘banana republic’. Whenever there is a road marked for the PM, not even a rickshaw can pass through that path, but our PM has to face the protesters in the middle of the flyover. suffered and they had to go back.”
He said: “It is really bad luck for Punjab. PM had to lay the foundation stone of projects worth crores and make some big announcements for the state. It is time for the people to decide whether they want to bear this nuisance or want a peaceful and safe environment for themselves.
About the low crowd at the venue, he said: “The protesters were sitting on the side of Amritsar-Tarn Taran Road, Fazilka Road, Moga and Muktsar. Due to this our buses from Fazilka got stuck at Kotkhai and Wazirpur, while the buses from Jalandhar got stuck at Lohian and Shahkot. Several buses from Ludhiana got stuck in Moga and the buses coming from Muktsar got stuck on the outskirts of Muktsar. Buses coming from Tarn Taran and Amritsar got stuck at the Harike Bridge.
When asked about the weather warning, he said, “There was a warning of moderate rain for Wednesday and we didn’t know that there would be such heavy rain. Though the weather was not a deterrent, but the reason for this was state-sponsored anarchy… otherwise people were ready to listen to the PM even in that weather.
Interestingly, the gathering of people on the VIP stage was also less. The entire markets of Ferozepur Cantonment remained closed due to PM’s visit and opened only after the news of his return.
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