BJP will be the party with highest number of seats in South, says Amit Shah

In the fourth phase, the BJP’s performance would be much better, he said, adding that in Telangana, the party would win 10 seats hands down and has better prospects in three more seats.

Amit Shah said that the contest now is between “INDI Alliance which is mired in ₹12 lakh crore corruption and Modi, who has does not have any corruption taint, not even of 25 paise”.

To a question, he said that the bail granted to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should not be construed as issue of clean chit to him, absolving him of corruption charges in Delhi Liquor Policy case.

The court gave him bail to help him campaign in the elections. If they (AAP) think that it is a clean chit, it is height of their innocence, he said.

Also Read: Cong won’t win 50 seats, will lose Opposition party status, says Modi in Odisha

‘Congress unsuccessfully trying to  launch Rahul’

The Union Minister said that the present general elections were “a contest between arrogant INDI alliance and Modi who does not take a single day off and instead chooses to celebrate Diwali also with jawans who are guarding the borders of the country”.

“The BJP-led NDA, during its 10 years of rule, secured internal security, improved the economy, upgraded infrastructure, promoted digital India and startups,” Shah claimed

He added that the Congress, on the other hand, is trying to launch Rahul unsuccessfully.

Taking a strong exception to the statements of Congress leader Mani Shankar Iyer and Farooq Abdulla on PoK, he said the BJP condemned their line of thinking. “They are portending a threat to the national integrity,” he said.

The BJP leader recalled how the Congress had edited his speech and circulated a video on social media that the BJP was against reservations for all sections.

Also Read: INDIA bloc leaders meet EC over voter turnout data, alleged model code violations

On reservations, Congress restoring NDA decisions

“The BJP is against reservations based on religion. If reservations have to be given, the socio-economic conditions of a caste have to be examined and included in OBC,” Shah said.

“In such a survey if a section of Muslims also qualify as backward, we are not against giving reservations to them. But the BJP is against conferring reservations based on religion as it is against the constitution,” he said.

He disapproved of the Congress’ professions that if it comes to power they would undo all the decisions that the NDA had taken during its 10 year rule.

”The Congress leaders were saying that they would restore Article 370, Triple Talaq, Muslim Personal Law and so on. At a time when Modi was trying to take the country on the road to development, the Congress wants to divide the country,” Shah said.

“They have already divided the country once. It was not enough for them and now they are saying that they want to divide the country into two halves but BJP would not allow it,” he said.

He said that India was the third country to conduct surgical strikes in an another country. “We will not tolerate if anyone interferes with internal security of our country. We will force our way into their country and retaliate,” he said.

Also Read: Prime Minister Modi rains ‘corrupt’, ‘anti Hindu’ charges on Congress, BRS

Challenging Telangana investment claims

Shah disputed the claim of Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy that the centre was preventing the flow of investments into Telangana.

The BJP leader said that the actual reason is that no investor is impressed with the way the government is running the state. “If he is really interested in investments, maybe he should approach the prime minister,” he said.

The Union Home Minister said that when Telangana was created in 2014, it had a surplus budget. But during the last 10 years, the growth had taken a back seat due to the misplaced priorities of the BRS and now the Congress government.

Telangana is getting ₹60,000 crore as grants in aid. During the last 10 years, Narendra Modi had given Telangana funds two times more than what had been allotted to the united Andhra Pradesh since independence for creation of infrastructure, airports and national highways.

He said the bane of Telangana was the rampant corruption and family politics. The people who understood the game plan of the BRS, want to elect the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections now, he said.

”They are now clear in their minds that regardless of whether it is the BRS or the Congress, which is in the saddle, it is the AIMIM that is always in the driver’s seat,” Shah said.

(Edited by Shauqueen Mizaj)