Barnala, March 1 -- All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab of functioning as the "B-team" of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while alleging that both parties had failed to address key issues facing the state. Addressing the MNREGA Mazdoor Kisan Bachao Rally in Barnala, Kharge criticised the Centre over the interim India-US trade agreement, claiming it was "anti-farmers" and detrimental to sectors such as textiles and machinery. He alleged that the government had "surrendered" national interests before US President Donald Trump by opening Indian markets to American agricultural products, and questioned AAP's silence on the issue. "The government here (Punjab) is the B team of the BJP," he said. "We have to protect our future generation and not destroy them.""If Punjab is safe, then country is safe. When Punjab is united, entire country is united. We have to bring a good and strong government," he said, appealing to the people to bring the Congress to power in the 2027 assembly elections. Referring to the deaths of assistant sub-inspector Gurnam Singh and home guard Ashok Kumar near the Pakistan border in Gurdaspur, Kharge described the incidents as signs of deteriorating law and order. He also pointed to rising cases of extortion threats, arms smuggling and drug trafficking along the border, alleging inaction by the state government. Targeting AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, Kharge said that merely "whining" would not help and urged him to fight injustice "like Rahul Gandhi." He also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing leaders of hypocrisy. Kharge further attacked Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, saying that some people display portraits of Bhagat Singh but do not follow his ideology. Echoing similar views, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring accused the AAP government of failing the state on drugs and law and order, and alleged that it had not opposed the Indo-US deal due to a "secret deal" with the BJP. Kharge said that Punjab was not only the strength of the Congress, but that of the entire country. "When Punjab is safe, the country is safe," Kharge said. Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Saturday said the manner in which Rahul Gandhi was compelled to visit Punjab and publicly admonish his own party leaders showed that the Congress high command had lost control over its state unit. "There was neither any agenda for Punjab nor any discussion about farmers or labourers. Instead, it was a desperate attempt by an already ineffective Congress high command, through Rahul Gandhi, to publicly humiliate and force the fragmented Punjab state leadership into unity by issuing a warning. However, in doing so, Rahul Gandhi not only turned the state leadership into a subject of public ridicule but also exposed his own weak leadership abilities," said Jakhar....