Kathua, Mar 28: Union Minister and BJP candidate for Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency Dr Jitendra Singh on Thursday accused the Congress leaders of grabbing land from the poor. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the other hand, gave land to the landless and also Pucca houses to them.

Addressing a series of BJP election meetings here, Dr Jitendra Singh said, “For more than six decades, Congress leaders including their elected representatives like MLAs and MPs had made it a norm to threaten the poor and encroach their properties. Under Congress rule, this culture became a countrywide phenomenon and did not spare even this region of Kathua, where people are innocent and dignified.”

Soon after taking over as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi said, “Na Khaunga Na Khane Doonga” and all the wealth and land looted from the poor by the Congress leaders and their families will be recovered and deposited in state exchequer to be utilised for the benefit of the needy, he said, adding, “At the same time, Prime Minister Modi said, those who are trying to escape from action by law will also be brought to book.”

Dr Jitendra Singh further said, “One after the other, all the criminals, encroachers and land grabbers in the Congress Party are on their way to jail and periodically coming out on bail. As a Member of Prime Minister Modi’s team, each of the BJP Karyakarta has taken the vow to bring these looters to the book and restore their looted property to the genuine claimants.”

As for Kathua, the BJP leader said, the entire region was neglected by its Congress representatives because they were keen to appease their Kashmir-centric “masters”. As a result, this region suffered from continuous neglect and discrimination, he said.

Dr Singh said that in the last 10 years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kathua witnessed maximum development among all the districts of Jammu and Kashmir. “Kathua got centrally funded Government Medical College, centrally funded Engineering College under RUSA, Passport Office, Vande Bharat Train, North India’s first Industrial Biotech Park, North India’s first Homeopathic College, first Seed Processing Plant, 4% reservation for youth along International border, border bunkers, Express Road Corridor from Delhi, network of roads, dozens of bridges including the important Keerian-Gandyal bridge, Juthana bridge and Atal Setu, several degree colleges and Kendriya Vidyalayas, Bamboo clusters, which gave employment to hundreds of peoples including Women Self-Help Groups, new industrial complex and much more,” he mentioned.

Today, Kathua is emerging as the central nodal point of education, health and trade from all across North India, Dr Jitendra said. “This has been possible only because of the personal indulgence of Prime Minister Modi and the third term of Prime Minister Modi is also going to be ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’ for Kathua emerging as a favourite destination in North India.”