SIDDHARTHNAGAR/SANT KABIR NAGAR: Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday claimed that in the first five rounds of polling, "the BJP has already crossed the 310 seat mark" and that the Congress is "not even winning 40 seats" in the ongoing election. Targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Mr Shah said that both refused to go to the Ram temple in Ayodhya for fear of losing their votebank, which is all made up of "intruders.
Addressing an election rally in Uttar Pradesh's Siddharthnagar for the BJP candidate Jagdambika Pal, Mr Shah said that this time the Congress is not even getting 40 Lok Sabha seats and the SP will barely get four seats.
In another rally in Sant Kabir Nagar, Mr Shah named several leaders from the Opposition parties and accused them of nepotism.
"Lalu Prasad Yadav wants to make his son the chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray wants to make his son the chief minister, Sharad Pawar wants to make his daughter the chief minister, Stalin wants to make his son the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee wants to make her nephew the chief minister and Sonia Gandhi wants to make her son Mr Gandhi the Prime Minister," he said, adding that someone who works for his family is not going to work for a constituency.
The Union home minister asserted that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is a part of India and the BJP will take it back.
"Leaders of Pakistan say that PoK is theirs. The Congress leaders say that Pakistan has atom bombs. The BJP people are not scared of atom bombs. PoK is and will remain part of India and we will take it back," he said.
Claiming that the Opposition is attempting to end reservations for SC, ST and OBC in order to appease their votebank, Mr Shah said, "Rahul baba and Mr Yadav you have been blinded by votebank politics. We will finish reservations on the basis of religion and give them back to the ST, ST and OBCs."
In his address, Mr Shah also pointed out that the INDIA bloc has no prime ministerial face and claimed that the alliance, if it comes to power, will have five PMs. "Can the country run like this?" he asked.
Mr Shah said that unlike Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who works tirelessly for the nation, both Mr Gandhi and Mr Yadav have booked tickets for a vacation abroad once the results of the Lok Sabha polls are announced.
"On the one hand, there is Mr Gandhi who leaves for Italy, Thailand and Bangkok, and on the other hand, there is Mr Modi who has not taken any leave for 23 years and even spends his Diwali with soldiers on the border," Mr Shah noted.
The Union minister further said the BJP ensured the One Rank-One Pension (OROP) scheme for retired Army personnel and asserted that India will become the third largest economy in the third term of Mr Modi.
Addressing a poll rally in Khalilabad of Sant Kabir Nagar in support of BJP nominee Praveen Kumar Nishad, who is contesting on a NISHAD party ticket, a partner of the NDA, Mr Shah accused the Opposition of stalling the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya for over 70 years and credited Mr Modi for its construction.
"This election is between the one who constructed the Ram temple and those who opened fire on Ram Bhakts," he said.
On the abolition of Article 370 in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Shah said, "Article 370, which was protected by the Congress and Samajwadi Party, was removed by Mr Modi in 2019 and Kashmir was made a part of India forever. Now, no one dares to explode bombs there."
Mr Shah alleged that in the erstwhile SP government, "goonda raj" was rampant in Uttar Pradesh and it was chief minister Yogi Adityanath who set all goons right.
Polling in Domariyaganj and Sant Kabir Nagar will be held in the sixth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls on Saturday.
