Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the Congress of making the "mistake" of letting Kartarpur Sahib - the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev - go to Pakistan during partition due to its "scramble for power" post-independence.
The party overlooked the sentiments of millions of Sikhs attached with the holy place, he said addressing a public meeting in poll-bound Rajasthan.
Modi said that the Congress, during its 70 years of rule in the country, could not arrange for people to worship at Karatpur and he was fortunate that the job of building the Kartarpur corridor fell to his lot.
"We can understand the lure of power but I am surprised how in such greed balance is lost, what mistakes are made. Such mistakes are being made to this day. When India got its independence in 1947, when it was partitioned, such was the hurry to get into the seat of power they could not see that after the partition, done on the basis of religion, Muslims wanted a new nation ... and made such mistakes that Kartarpur Sahib, the seat of Guru Nanak Dev's learning and his final resting place, went to Pakistan.
"Had they had even a little sensitivity and wisdom about what place Guru Nanak Dev holds in the hearts and minds of the Indian people, our Kartarpur, a mere three kilometres away, would not have been taken away from us," he said.
"The Congress remained in power for 70 years, battles were fought, battles were won also. Tall claims were made. But it could not make arrangement for one to worship at the Guru Nanak Devji's resting place.
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"It's my good fortune that the job of constructing Kartarpur corridor came to my lot," he added.
The proposed corridor will link Gurdwara Sahib Kartarpur to Dera Baba Nanak in Indian Punjab. Guru Nanak Dev spent the last 18 years of his life at Kartarpur Sahib.
The Prime Minister accused the Congress of indulging in a number of scams during its previous two terms and thanked people for voting for him.
"Take out any newspaper from five years back. Recall their headlines: 'coal scam', 'lost this many crores', '2G scam'. Was it not the case? 'Submarine scam', news of only theft and scams. Scams were only things that were there in newspapers," Modi said.
"Today, it's been five years, did you get to come across any such news since? What made all this possible. It was your vote."
--IANS
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