Sidhu calls Modi 'anti-national', accuses him of selling interest of the nation

New Delhi, Apr 20: Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi "ruined" government companies and "favoured" private firms in his five years of rule and accused him of being "anti-national for selling the interest of the nation".

Sidhu also described PM Modi as "nikamma" (useless) and said he should stop harping on the issue of nationalism to garner votes and talk about the matters of national interest.

Addressing a press conference here, the Punjab minister alleged, "Modi is the business development manager of Ambani and Adani, as he has favoured them at the cost of state-run firms." The Congress has been attacking the prime minister for "promoting crony capitalism and favouring his industrialist friends".

The government has, however, denied the charges. Sidhu also alleged that while SBI and MTNL are accruing losses, PM Modi is endorsing private companies like Paytm and Reliance Jio.

"Adani and Ambani accompanied the Prime Minister on foreign visits and 18 big projects, which should have ideally been given to government companies, were handed over to them," he claimed.

The Congress leader alleged that the "chowkidar" took care only of the rich and ignored the rest 99 per cent of the population.

"And the Prime Minister says he's the chowkidar of the nation. He's the chowkidar of the top 1 per cent of the population. He never took chairmen of government companies along with him on his foreign tours. Are government firms not good enough?" Sidhu asked.

The cricketer-turned-politician alleged that under the "chowkidar's" watch, PSUs like Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) turned into loss-making enterprises. "While BSNL is grappling with a loss of Rs 8,000 cr, the Prime Minister is endorsing Reliance Jio, which has posted a huge profit. While SBI is reeling under NPAs, Modi can be seen in advertisements of Paytm," he alleged.

"Modi sold the interest of the nation. He's anti-national," Sidhu alleged. The Prime Minister should stop harping on the issue of nationalism to garner votes and talk about the matters of national interest, he said.

PTI