SP-Congress wiped out in first phase of Lok Sabha polls: Amit Shah
Lotus will bloom from Vrindavan to Kashi again, says home minister Amit Shah at campaign event for BJP’s Mathura candidate Hema Malini in Vrindavan
Asserting that the Samajwadi Party and the Congress were wiped out in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election held on Friday, Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said voters have to choose between Prime Minister Narendra Modi who works even on Diwali and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who spends his summer vacation on a private island in Thailand.
Shah was addressing an election meeting at Vrindavan in Mathura Lok Sabha constituency, which goes to polls in the second phase on April 26.
“In 2017, do shehzade (two princes) came together and the BJP government was formed in Uttar Pradesh with a landslide majority. This time again, the two (Rahul and Akhilesh) have come together and BJP will win by a huge margin,” Shah said.
“This election, voters have to make a choice between Prime Minister Narendra Modi who takes no leave and works even on Diwali and Rahul Baba who spends the summer vacation on a private island in Thailand,” he said.
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“It is a choice between Modi, born in a poor family and who has no corruption charge, and Rahul Gandhi born with a silver spoon. His party’s (Congress) regime had scams involving crores,” Shah said at the rally
Beginning his speech with ‘Radhey Radhey,’ Amit Shah also said about the polls, “It will be the same story in the second phase and lotus (BJP symbol) will bloom from Vrindavan to Kashi again.”
The rally was held in support of BJP candidate and sitting MP Hema Malini, who is seeking a third successive win from Mathura.
Seeking to negate the opposition charge that Hema Malini is a pravasi (outsider), Amit Shah asserted that she has devoted her life to Braj.
“When I was in charge of Uttar Pradesh during the 2014 Lok Sabha election, we gave the ticket to Hema Malini because she was an actor of international fame. In 2019, I was the BJP president and gave the ticket to Hemaji because she was one of the best sansads (MPs),” Shah said.
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“In 2024, we have reposed faith in Hema Malini because she has taken her devotion to Lord Krishna to new heights. Not a month passes when she does not write a letter, raising demand for Mathura. She is tirelessly working to make Mathura a center of international repute,” the home minister said.
He asked Mathura voters to vote for Hema Malini to make Narendra Modi the prime minister for the third time with “400 paar” (over 400 seats).
In the presence of the BJP’s new ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary, Shah blamed the Congress for denying Bharat Ratna to farmer leader and former Prime Minister the late Chaudhary Charan Singh, adding that the honour was finally bestowed by the Modi government earlier this year.
He also attacked the Opposition on the Ram temple issue.
“The Congress, SP and the BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) kept the Ram temple issue in Ayodhya lingering for 70 years, but Prime Mnister Narendra Modi not only got victory in the court case but had Pran Pratishtha of Lord Ram done at the glorious temple in Ayodhya. We invited opposition parties to attend the celebrations, but due to votebank politics, the opposition turned down the invite,” he alleged.
“Congress president (Mallikarjun) Kharge and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav laughed at abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, but Modiji went ahead with the promise. During 10 years of the UPA (Congress-led United Progressive Alliance) regime, terrorism rose while the then government remained silent but Modi chose to cross the border and conduct a surgical strike after the Pulwama attack,” Shah said.
“Then then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left the Indian economy in 11th position in the world but Modi took it to the fifth position. It is Modi’s guarantee that India will be third biggest economy in the world in his third term,” he said.