Taking his party’s fight to the Congress bastion, BJP president Amit Shah held a public rally in Rae Bareli on Saturday and asserted that the BJP would free Rae Bareli and Amethi of the ‘family rule’.
“Rahul Gandhi must say sorry to Hindus for labeling them terrorists. In pursuit of vote bank politics, the Congress coined the phrase of ‘Hindu terror’ and tried to implicate some Hindu activists in the Meccas Masjid blast case in Hyderabad over a decade ago. The Congress chief owes them an apology after the court verdict on Mecca Masjid blast case,’’said Shah while addressing a Rs Parivartan rally’ at te GIC ground at Rae Bareli.
Though the BJP made a record haul across the state in 2014 lok Sabha elections, it lost Rae Bareli and Amethi to Congress.
Shah’s efforts in Rae Bareli, which include meetings with party workers to review the BJP’s preparedness for 2019 general elections, seem to be an effort to wrest Rae Bareli and Amethi from the Congress.
At the rally, Shah also referred to the upcoming Karnataka Assembly poll on May 15, and confidently opined that the saffron party would put up a good show there.
“The BJP is ruling in 20 states. Wait till May 15, Karnataka will be the 21st state under BJP rule. I have just returned from the southern state and the mood is clearly in favour of the BJP,” Shah asserted.
Saturday’s rally saw BJP leaders relentlessly criticising Congress for failing to do enough for Rae Bareli and Amethi constituencies. “Congress fooled the people in the name of development. It was the Modi government that pushed development in Uttar Pradesh and Rae Bareli,” Shah said at the rally.
The BJP chief stressed that the people of Rae Bareli sent several ‘big leaders’ to Delhi, but they did not ensure any development to the area. “Rae Bareli has witnessed ‘ Parivaarvaad’ (dynasty rule) and not Rs Vikaasvaad’ (development) right since independence,” Shah said.
Shah harped on a slew of schemes that the government implemented for Uttar Pradesh.
“Yogi Adityanth restored law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, which was earlier notorious for goons and guns. Besides, the CM also managed to make the state to ‘pothole free’,” Shah said.
Referring to the minor fire that broke out at the rally venue, Shah said, “When something big is about to happen some obstacles do come in the way.”
In his address, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that despite winning the Parliamentary seats numerous times, the Congress failed to ensure development in Rae Bareli and Amethi.
“People of Rae Bareli and Amethi have only suffered under the Congress. Both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the BJP chief for their baseless allegations against him in the Justice loya case,’’ said the Chief Minister.
“The BJP government in the state is working on the ‘sankalp ‘ (pledge) of ensuring availability of power and water and construction of better roads in villages. When the Congress was in power, they never feel it necessary to be answerable to anyone,” said Yogi.
Congress MlC Dinesh Pratap Singh who hopped over to the BJP atthe rally, said that he was forced to leave the party as it was being run like a private limited company.
“The Gandhis have no concern for development of the region. They are only interested in doing politics of vested interest,” he alleged.
Singh said that development could only take place with the help of the BJP and that was why his family decided to join the party.