The BJP leader also took potshots at BRS, saying it looted Telangana for 10 years and now Congress is doing it.
Amit Shah at a public meeting in Telangana before the 2023 Assembly elections. (Supplied)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, 5 May, said Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy shared his doctored video on social media — in which he was heard saying that BJP would do away with all reservations — with mala fide intent.
Addressing an election rally at Sirpur-Khagaznagar in the Adilabad Lok Sabha constituency in Telangana, Shah said Congress had doctored the video to influence the results of the Lok Sabha elections by purveying falsehood.
He, however, also said that BJP was against reservations being provided to Muslims.
Shah added that the saffron party was committed to cancelling the quota given to the community and transferring it to the existing reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
The Union home minister also delivered a laboured explanation on how BJP was not against the Constitution and that Congress was trying to mislead the people by peddling lies and falsehoods.
Shah said BJP was racing ahead in the elections, and was already past 100 seats at the end of the first two phases.
After the third phase, it would cross 150 seats. When the fourth phase would end, in which Telangana would vote, it would have crossed the 250-seat mark, he said.
Shah also said he was very confident of BJP improving its score in the election. In fact, the saffron party has been seeing an upward trend since 2018 as its seats and vote share increased significantly ever since, he said.
BJP was sure to get 10 seats in Telangana in the Lok Sabha polls this time he claimed.
He also said the ensuing elections were a battle between the NDA — known for its commitment to the service of the people — and the INDIA bloc, which had no such service motto.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been working without taking leave even for one day, but Rahul Gandhi was always enjoying vacations, claimed Shah.
The BJP leader said that one of the important promises that the saffron party had redeemed was the consecration of the Lord Ram Idol at the Ram Temple built in Ayodhya.
“For its inauguration, both Rahul [Gandhi] and [Congress president Mallikarjun] Kharge were invited but they did not turn up. You know why? They are afraid of a portion of the people,” said Shah.
“I think you know who they are. It is the same community of people that Owaisi also banks on,” he said, implying that Congress leaders skipped the event for fear that Muslims might turn against them.
The BJP leader also took potshots at BRS. He said: “BRS looted the state for 10 years and now Congress is doing it. The Telangana state is an ATM for them.”
He added that Modi was not a soft prime minister like Manmohan Singh — his predecessor. After the attacks at Uri and Pulwama, he had ordered surgical strikes, said the home minister.
Shah also said the prime minister was as concerned with the problems of the people as he was against terrorists. However, Congress was habituated to politicising any good work done by the NDA, he alleged.
“Even when the Covid-19 pandemic was raging in India, Rahul urged the people not to use the vaccines supplied by the NDA government. But finally, he and his sister coolly took the shots,” he said, wondering aloud how Congress had no qualms when it came to deriving political benefit from even a calamity.
(Edited by Arkadev Ghoshal)
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