Would've taken back Kartarpur Sahib in '71': PM Modi

PM Narendra Modi invoked the 1971 war against Pakistan during his rally in Patiala Thursday, asserting that he would have reclaimed Kartarpur Sahib if he had been in office then.

"Congress got the country partitioned and this forced us to have a glimpse of Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara only through a telescope. More than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered before India during the Bangladesh liberation war and we had an upper hand. Agar us samay Modi hota, main unse Kartarpur Sahib le karke chorta (Had Modi been in office then, I would have taken back Kartarpur Sahib from Pakistan," he said.

The Sikh shrine is barely 5km from the Punjab border.