Home Minister Amit Shah has attacked the Opposition parties for disrupting the Parliament, saying that reality is that as dynastic politics and castiest mindset is in danger, the Opposition is creating a myth that Indian democracy is at risk. Addressing a public gathering on the sidelines of Kaushambi Mahotsav on Friday, he claimed that the people of Uttar Pradesh and India were determined to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister again in 2024.
“We have come here with a resolution to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister again in 2024,” said Mr. Shah. “Budget session of Parliament ended without proper discussion, which never happened previously. Opposition MPs didn’t allow the Houses of Parliament to run, the only reason was Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as a member. Rahulji insulted India abroad. The people of the country see and understand this as well that democracy is not at risk; it is dynastic politics which is in danger as Modiji defeated these dynastic parties,” said the Home Minister while adding once again that the BJP would cross 300 seats in 2024.
Mr. Shah said that Uttar Pradesh always trusted Mr. Modi which was evident from the past Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls. “In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, U.P. voted for Modiji and decimated the SP, the BSP and the Congress. When I was the party president in 2017, the State gifted 325 seats to the BJP and Modiji made Yogi Adityanath the Chief Minister. In 2019 when the SP, BSP formed a coalition, the voters of the State defeated them and made Modiji the PM yet again,” said Mr. Shah alleging that the Congress, the SP, and the BSP created obstacles in the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Development projects
Apart from Kaushambi, Mr. Shah also addressed a function in Azamgarh while launching various development projects. The Home Minister highlighted the government’s efforts to change Azamgarh into a region of development from earlier image of a terror hub. “This place belonged to great revolutionaries, but during previous governments of the SP, BSP and Congress its image was tarnished. It came to be regarded as a hub of terror. When I was the Home Minister in Gujarat, there were bomb blasts in Ahmedabad. Then the Gujarat Police was arresting terrorists from all over the country, at that time the mastermind of the whole blast was caught from Azamgarh,” he said while adding the Opposition parties did the politics of religion and caste. “Earlier, when we used to visit the State, villages did not get electricity at night. Electricity was given for 24 hours only during Ramzan. The SP, BSP and Congress misled people by doing politics of religion and caste,” added Mr. Shah.
Addressing the gathering, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the State was achieving new heights under the leadership of Mr. Modi and the guidance of Mr. Shah. “The State is doing well in many areas, and a new picture of development is in front of us all,” said Mr. Adityanath. The Chief Minister also alleged that the development of Azamgarh was stalled in the name of caste and religion and earlier it used to had identity of crisis. He claimed that like the Lok Sabha polls of 2014, 2019 and Vidhan Sabha elections of 2017 and 2022, the BJP will emerge victorious under the leadership of the Prime Minister in U.P.
Mr. Shah’s selection of Kaushambi and Azamgarh during his visit indicates the saffron party’s increasing focus on weak seats in the run-up to 2024 poll and Dalit and Extremely Backward Classes outreach who are in sizeable numbers in these districts. Both Azamgarh and Kaushambi are considered difficult electoral terrain for the saffron party as even in 2022 Assembly poll, it failed to win any of the 10 segments in Azamgarh district and none of the five Vidhan Sabha segments comprising the Kaushambi Lok Sabha. In Azamgarh division, comprising of Azamgarh, Mau and Ballia districts, out of 21 Assembly segments, the SP-led alliance won 17 seats in 2022 poll. While in Kaushambi, the SP won three Vidhan Sabha segments, Raghuraj Pratap Singh’s Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) won two seats. In 2019 Lok Sabha, the BJP lost Azamgarh and won the Kaushambi parliamentary elections by less than 40,000 votes.
MLA detained
Before the event, the SP MLA from Sirathu constituency under Kaushambi district Pallavi Patel was put under house arrest by the police citing security reasons. SP president Akhilesh Yadav targeted the BJP alleging it showed the negative politics of the saffron party. “House arrest of a respected Opposition MLA Dr. Pallavi Patel and not allowing her to meet people on her constituency foundation day shows the negative politics of the BJP. The voters of Kaushambi will teach the BJP a lesson in Lok Sabha polls and show them their place,” wrote Mr. Yadav on Twitter.
