Union Home Minister Amit Shah strongly condemned the Congress party during a speech to a public gathering in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, charging them with decades of national plunder. While he was doing campaigning for BJP candidates Dinesh Pratap Singh in Raebareli and Smriti Irani in Amethi, he commended their diligence and gave his assurance that the party would win both seats.
“We got the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya after a long wait,” Shah said, taking aim at the INDIA alliance. You may be sure that if the Congress takes power, they would place a Babri lock on the Pran Prathishtha despite their assertions that it hasn’t been completed completely.”
Criticizing dynastic politics, Shah said, “Lalu ji wants his son to become CM, Mamata wants the same for her nephew, and Sonia Gandhi wants Rahul Gandhi to be Prime Minister. They claim Raebareli and Amethi’s seats belong to them. But I believe it is up to the people to decide. There is no seat reserved for family dynasties.”
Regarding Article 370, he stated, “The Congress party didn’t act against Article 370, but Modi ji abrogated it. He has halted terrorism in the country and eradicated terrorists. Pakistan-occupied Kashmir also belongs to us. We are not scared.”
Accusing the Congress of corruption, he said, “They have looted the country for many years. Modi Sarkar will put all the corrupt in jail.”
Praising the double engine government in Uttar Pradesh, he added, “The state has developed under Modi ji. UP has received 14 expressways, a metro network, medical colleges, a film city, a toy park, etc. Yogi Ji has eradicated the goons in the state.”
Notably, Amethi and Raebareli, traditional strongholds of the Gandhi family, have once again become focal points. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is contesting in Raebareli, while the family’s close aide Kishori Lal Sharma is running against Smriti Irani in Amethi. In 2014, Congress won only two seats in Uttar Pradesh (Raebareli and Amethi), but this tally dropped to one in 2019 after losing Amethi.