Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah has exuded confidence that the party will emerge as the single largest party in the southern States, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, after the Lok Sabha elections.
“After the end of three phases of polling for Lok Sabha, I can say with all authority that we are going to win more than 200 seats. The fourth phase is critical and we are receiving good reports. We are going to sweep Andhra Pradesh along with our allies and also win at least 10 seats in Telangana,” he told a press conference on Saturday.
Overall, the party is sure to win over 400 seats as the people of the country have decided to give Prime Minister Narendra Modi another term in office. “Mr. Modi will complete the third entire term and there is no confusion in the party about it,” he asserted, when asked if he was going to take over as PM mid-term.
Mr. Shah clarified that his party was against religion-based quotas only. Any person from any religion be it Hindus, Muslims or Sikhs can find a place among the OBCs provided a proper socio-economic survey was done to determine the backwardness of that particular caste.
The HM claimed that the Modi government has fulfilled 92% of the promises made in the previous two elections and is well on course to take the country towards the path of progress and development in all spheres even while ensuring the internal and external security is strengthened to deal with terrorism and extremism.
“The choice between the electorate is very clear — between corrupt, dynastic and vote bank politics of INDIA allies and the NDA/BJP led by Mr. Modi against whom there is not even a 25 paisa corruption charge during his years as Gujarat CM and now as PM,” he declared.
Referring to Telangana, he said both the BRS and Congress are the same, in being corrupt and dynastic and also in bowing to All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Owaisi. “If the BRS rule had pushed Telangana into a huge debt, Revanth Reddy government has been funding the entire Congress party campaign for the Parliament polls having become an ATM,” he alleged.
Mr. Shah also questioned why the Congress government has been unable to take up farm loan waiver, scholarships for youth, and financial assistance to women and others after promising to do the same by Sonia Gandhi’s birthday, after it came to power in December.
The BJP leader also said the country will never give up Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) even though the Congress leaders, whether it is Mani Shankar Aiyer or others, have a different opinion due to ‘appeasement’ and ‘vote bank politics’. He decried Mr. Revanth Reddy questioning the surgical strikes and said India became only the third country after the United States and Israel to do so.
The Home Minister reiterated that the Modi government had not touched quotas for SC/ST/BCs during its two terms in power despite enjoying a majority but the issue is about reservations for Muslims against the interests of the former. “We have built Ram Temple, abrogated Article 370 and initiated the Uniform Civil Code (UCC),” he added. Telangana BJP president and Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy, Rajya Sabha MP K. Laxman and others were present.
