Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday virtually launched the ruling BJP-led MahaYuti’s campaign for the Maharashtra Assembly polls by terming NCP(SP) president Sharad Pawar as “corruption ka sargana’ (Godfather) and Shiv Sena ( UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray as the leader of ‘Aurangzeb fan club’.
Addressing the office-bearers’ meeting in Pune, Shah tore into Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of the Congress, by saying that the latter’s arrogance would be crushed after the Congress’ defeat in the ensuing Assembly polls in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand.
Rahul Gandhi’s arrogance will be crushed after we win forthcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana,” the senior BJP leader said.
Crediting the Shinde Sena-BJP- NCP (Ajit Pawar) dispensation with launching several schemes for the welfare of the people, Shah expressed confidence that the BJP-led MahaYuti would do better than it did in the2014 and 2019 Assembly elections.
“It is the BJP-led MahaYuti that gave reservations to the Marathas. Our government brought in several welfare schemes for the people of Maharashtra. We are confident of performing better in the 2024 State Assembly polls than we did in 2014 and 2019 Assembly polls,” Shah said.
Singling out Sharad Pawar for vicious criticism, Shah said: “Sharad Pawar is corruption ka ‘sargana’ (godfather)…if there is anyone who has institutionalised corruption in this country, it is Sharad Pawar…That’s not going to work anymore.”
The senior BJP leader was equally caustic when he spoke against Uddhav Thackeray. “There is an ‘Aurangzeb fan club’, which cannot ensure India’s security…do you know about it or not? Uddhav Thackeray is the leader of the Aurangzeb Fan club. He shares his meals with people involved with Mohamed Ajmal Kasab (the lone fidayeen caught during 26/11 terror attacks)…he is sitting with people that sought clemency for (1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict) Yakub Memon…he supports those who gave (controversial Islamic preacher) Zakir Naik a messenger of peace award”.
“He (Uddhav) supports those who support PFI and stands against renaming Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar. This fan club cannot make Maharashtra and India safe. It’s only the BJP that can ensure the safety and security of all,” Shah said.
The Union Home Minister charged that during their Lok Sabha poll campaign the Congress and its allies have created a “fake narrative” that the Constitution would be changed and reservations would end. “If anyone has strengthened reservation, it is Modi, who had undertaken several measures in the last 10 years,” Shah said.
“Whenever a BJP government is in power, Marathas are given reservation and whenever a government in which Pawar is there, the reservations scrapped….in Maharashtra, every time BJP comes to power, we enable Maratha reservation, whereas, Pawar government disables it whenever they get a chance. In 2014, under Devendra Fadnavis as the Chief Minister, you got the Maratha reservation.
If you want to continue the Maratha reservation, you must make the BJP win,” Shah said.
Heaping praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah said: “Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, we have silenced Pakistan by way of air-strikes and surgical-strikes. Let me assure you, in another two years, Naxalism would be wiped out completely”.
Pepping the shaken morale of the BJP workers in the state, Shah said that there was no need for the party cadres to get “perturbed” by the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra where the BJP’s tally went down from 23 in 2019 to nine in 2024. He exhorted the party cadres to get down to the task of reaching out to the people across the state and telling them about the good work done by us and the welfare schemes for the people brought in by the BJP-led MahaYuti government in the state.
“Every BJP worker from Maharashtra has contributed to what the BJP is today. We will perform better in the 2024 Assembly polls than we did in the earlier two polls.
Let's work hard, set new goals for ourselves and contribute to the rise of saffron once again in the state,” Shah said.
