Our Correspondent
Hyderabad: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, declaring that his ambition of becoming Prime Minister could materialise only in a mock Parliament and never in the real one. Taking a sarcastic swipe at the Congress leadership, Shah said such an exercise might at least bring some happiness to Sonia Gandhi.
Addressing a BJP rally and participating in the party’s ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ (Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy) march in Hyderabad, Shah targeted Rahul Gandhi over the mock Parliament exercise organised by Opposition parties two days earlier.
“Rahul ji, two days ago, you held a mock Parliament. Had you asked me, I would have suggested that you become Prime Minister in that mock Parliament instead of remaining the Leader of the Opposition. Why? Because you will never become Prime Minister in the real Parliament. You can become one in a mock Parliament, and that may bring some peace to Sonia ji’s heart,” Shah remarked.
The Union Home Minister also questioned Gandhi’s political commitment, alleging that he spends only three or four months in the country before travelling abroad. “You cannot win elections this way. You will have to sweat it out in the country, stand united with the people and work to resolve their problems,” he said.
A major part of Shah’s address focused on the Opposition’s resistance to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Accusing the Congress and its allies of attempting to protect illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators, he alleged that such individuals figured among their vote banks.
“Rahul ji and Revanth Reddy ji can put in as much effort as they want. The BJP will ensure that every single infiltrator is removed from the voter list and driven out of the country,” Shah asserted, adding that only Indian citizens should have the right to vote.
Countering the Opposition’s allegations that electoral roll revisions were being used to influence election outcomes, Shah cited the BJP’s successive electoral victories since 2014. He pointed out that Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014 and returned to power in 2019, even though the present SIR exercise was not conducted during those elections.
He also referred to the BJP’s victories in Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi and Bihar, arguing that the party’s electoral success was rooted in popular support rather than any manipulation of electoral rolls. He further took a dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee while asserting that the BJP was expanding its political footprint across the country.
In another challenge to the Congress and the INDIA bloc, Shah said the Centre was prepared to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the issues being raised by the Opposition.
“The Constitution’s responsibilities are discharged through Parliament. But Rahul ji, you do not allow Parliament to function. I challenge you from the land of Hyderabad. We are ready to convene a special session. Come and participate in a discussion,” he said.
Accusing the Congress of deliberately disrupting parliamentary proceedings to remain politically relevant, Shah claimed that the Opposition was unwilling to engage in a substantive debate because it could not counter the arguments of the Narendra Modi government.
Shah also questioned the Congress’s criticism of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), pointing to the party’s electoral victories in Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh.
“If EVMs are faulty, how did your Revanth Reddy become Chief Minister? How did your governments come to power in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh? When you win, the credit goes to the people, but when you lose, you blame the EVMs,” he said.
The Home Minister also accused the Congress-led UPA government of presiding over corruption and scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore during its decade in power, contrasting it with the governance record of the Modi government.
Shah was accompanied during the march by Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar and several Telangana BJP leaders. Carrying the National Flag, the leaders and party workers began the foot march from the Babu Jagjivan Ram statue and proceeded to Mozamjahi Market.
The rally and march formed part of the BJP’s campaign against the Congress and the INDIA bloc, with Shah using the Hyderabad platform to attack the Opposition on leadership, electoral reforms, parliamentary functioning and its criticism of the Modi government.
