Modi targets Congress over 1984 riots and farm loan waivers at Punjab rally

Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress of protecting its leaders linked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and even rewarding them with chief ministerships, in a veiled reference to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. Speaking at a joint rally of the BJP and its ally the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab, he also attacked the Congress over farm loan waivers, saying it had not kept its promises to farmers.

The 1984 riots

It was Modi’s first open attack on Kamal Nath since the BJP’s defeat in the Madhya Pradesh assembly election. “Their history has been the massacre of innocent Sikhs,” he said, and alleged that files on those involved in the riots had been buried at the direction of one family. Kamal Nath had been named as an accused in the Delhi riots that followed the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, but the court gave him the benefit of the doubt because there was no conclusive evidence against him.

Farm loans and Rafale

Modi raised the loan waiver promise the Congress made during the Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh elections, alleging that the party had misled people. That promise is seen as one reason for the Congress’s strong showing in those states. He said the Congress had made a similar promise of large waivers in Punjab that did not match reality. He also accused the Congress leadership of compromising national security and spreading falsehoods for the sake of one family, an apparent reference to the party’s allegations of irregularities in the Rafale fighter jet deal.

Kartarpur Corridor and the Punjab seats

Modi highlighted what he called his government’s historic decision to build the Kartarpur Corridor, linking Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, which Modi described as Guru Nanak Dev’s final resting place. In Punjab the BJP contests three Lok Sabha seats and the Akali Dal the remaining ten. Vinod Khanna won Gurdaspur for the BJP in 2014, but the Congress took the seat in the by-election held after his death.

What happened next

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election the BJP won 303 of 543 seats and the Congress 52, and Modi was sworn in for a second term on 30 May 2019.

See also: Shiromani Akali Dal · Punjab Vidhan Sabha members

Originally published on 4 January 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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