Punjab Cong chief Amarinder Singh Takes A Dig At Modi's Mann Ki Baat

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh on Sunday wondered why he did not have a single word of sympathy during his 'Mann ki Baat' radio programme for the Dalit boys beaten up in Gujarat.

The Lok Sabha MP said, "South Africa visit was like a "teerth-yatra" (pilgrimage) for him as he had an opportunity to meet the people who struggled for equality."

"You better take another 'teerth-yatra' to Una town in your home state and meet those Dalit boys and others, who are not only struggling, but continue to suffer every day of their life," he said in statement here.

"As they say, charity begins at home and it does not suit anyone better than you in the current circumstances since this is happening in your home state, Gujarat, which you ruled for 12 years and which eventually propelled you to the position that you currently hold," he said.

The former chief minister said Modi wants every Indian to celebrate the Independence Day.

"That every Indian is already doing for the last 69 years and nobody needs to be reminded about that," he said adding, "but what about those who are feeling frightened and threatened like those Dalit boys of Gujarat."

"What does freedom mean to them...after having suffered what they were made to suffer," he asked the prime minister.

"Either you are ignorant about what is happening in the country or you deliberately chose not to condemn the atrocities on Dalits for the reasons best known to you," he said.

The Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha said while Modi talked of innovation in technology, he should also have talked about "innovating and liberating the sectarian and parochial mindsets which do not see fellow human beings as humans".

"Culture of innovation and entrepreneurship is good but what about the culture of tolerance and harmony which we seem to be losing fast thanks to your silence about the violence by vigilante groups who have unleashed a reign of terror on Dalits and minorities", he said.

In his 'Mann Ki Baat' address, Modi had pitched for technological solutions to daily life problems.