Chandigarh: Reacting to Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Punjab, former Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday said Congress had been “missing as an opposition party for four years and nine months” and “now, with elections approaching, its leaders have emerged only to trade in votes and shed crocodile tears for Punjab”.Congress president Kharge and leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi are scheduled to attend the party’s ‘Insaaf Rally’ in Sangrur on Wednesday.In a written statement, Jakhar alleged, “Drugs, gangsterism and corruption are Punjab’s most pressing issues, yet Congress leaders themselves stand tainted by the same charges.”He alleged, “Under the Aam Aadmi Party govt, the drug menace and gangster terror have devastated Punjab’s youth, while Congress remained silent for almost the entire term, completely failing in its responsibility as the opposition.”On the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Jakhar stated, “Rahul Gandhi held a rally against it in Delhi two days ago, but will now face the reality that Punjab Congress never protested even once during the entire SIR exercise in the state. In fact, Punjab Congress leaders congratulated the chief electoral officer on smooth completion of SIR, taking the wind out of the party’s nationwide campaign against the Election Commission and proving that the central leadership has lost touch with ground realities. Till date, Congress has not brought forward a single case of an eligible voter in Punjab whose name was wrongly deleted.”The senior BJP functionary alleged, “Congress is using SIR as an excuse for its electoral defeats. Voters did not elect Congress because it does nothing in public interest, and the party alternately blames SIR and EVMs for its losses.”He claimed, “Rahul Gandhi’s real purpose is to come to Punjab and warn his divided state unit to unite, as he had done in Barnala. But unity without a worthwhile common purpose has no foundation, and Congress finds itself in this situation because it has drifted away from issues that matter to the people.”