LS polls like Mahabharata war, choice between ‘dynasty & development’ alliance, says Amit Shah 

New Delhi: Likening the upcoming parliamentary election to the war between the ‘Kauravas’ and ‘Pandavas’ in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Sunday that India had to choose between a “dynamic and development-oriented alliance, whose leader had no taint of corruption” and an alliance that’s “deeply rooted in corruption and dynastic politics”.

Speaking on the concluding day of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s two-day national convention at the Bharat Mandapam in the national capital, Shah pitted what he called “2G, 3G, and 4G parties” — a reference to “the family-based parties” in the Opposition INDIA bloc — against the BJP. The convention comes months before the general election.

Shah’s speech while presenting a resolution called “BJP: Desh ki aasha, vipaksha ki hatasha” (BJP: Country’s hope, opposition’s despair) was met with thunderous applause and resounding chants of ‘Modi, Modi’. He added: “And the country has decided that Modi will be prime minister again. There’s no doubt about that”.

Continuing his attack, Shah said the fight was between a “development alliance (referring to BJP-led National Democratic Alliance) and a dynastic one (INDIA).”

“INDI Alliance is an alliance of seven family-based parties. The leaders of these parties have not changed in the last four generations. When the welfare of the children is the goal, how will the welfare of the country be,” he asked. 

On the one hand is the NDA under the leadership of Modi while on the other is an arrogant alliance “of all the dynastic parties under the leadership of Congress,” Shah said.

“This arrogant alliance nurtures the politics of corruption, nepotism, and appeasement while the BJP and NDA are running on the principle of ‘Nation First’,” he said. 

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‘Era of development’

The last 10 years have seen a paradigm shift in the political landscape of India, the home minister said.  

“While the Congress and the I.N.D.I Alliance tried to use Dalits, Adivasis, and the backward classes as their vote bank (for years), it was the BJP government that, for the first time, gave these communities were given their due,” he said. 

Under Modi, development got a new template, Shah said. “In 75 years, this country has seen 17 Lok Sabha elections, 22 governments, and 15 prime ministers. Every government in the country has tried to develop according to its time. But today, I can say without any confusion that overall development — that is development of every sector and every individual — has been done only in 10 years of Narendra Modi,” he said.

Listing out the Modi government’s achievements, he said that it was under this government that every farmer in the country got Rs 6,000. He was referring to the Modi government’s PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana — a welfare scheme under which eligible farmers get Rs 6,000 every year.

The remark on farmers came amid renewed farmer protests for a law guaranteeing Minimum Support Price.  

“There has been rapid development in the last 10 years. After this convention, we will go to every constituency with PM Modi’s message of what India will be like in 2047. There is no doubt that the country has decided that Modi will become the prime minister again.”

‘Congress has done nothing for OBCs’

The Opposition only wanted to advance their own families, Shah claimed in his speech.  “Congress leader Sonia Gandhi aims to make her son Rahul the country’s prime minister,” he said. “Pawar saheb (founder of Nationalist Congress Party Sharad Pawar) wants to make his daughter (Amravati MP Supriya Sule) CM, (West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee wants to see her nephew (TMC general secretary) in that position,” he said, also naming Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief Uddhav Thackeray in this list.

“Mulayam Singh Yadav ensured that his son (current Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav) became the (Uttar Pradesh) CM. Those who aim to grab power for their family, will they ever think of the welfare of the poor?” he asked. 

The Congress, in particular, came under attack, with Shah accusing the party of not only insulting Sanatana Dharma but also “misusing the Constitution for minority appeasement”.

“Today, I want to warn the Congress from here that by rejecting the invitation for the consecration of Ram Lalla (on 22 January), you have not only shied away from being a part of this historic moment, but you have also distanced yourself from the process of making the country great,” he said.

He also claimed that despite historically doing nothing for the backward classes, Congress was now demanding a nationwide caste census. The party has promised a nationwide caste census if it returns to power in the general election this year. 

“Nehru (India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru) opposed reservation. Indira Gandhi didn’t implement the Mandal Commission report. (Her son and former prime minister) Rajiv Gandhi even opposed it on the floor of Parliament. Now, Rahul Gandhi is campaigning for OBCs,” he said. “Throughout history, the Congress has been against OBCs. But today, someone has given him (Rahul) a script and he’s reading it. (Meanwhile) our party has made one OBC son (Modi) as prime minister and has taken several measures in favour of the community.”

’Congress is the mother of instability’ 

The BJP continued its attack on the Congress, singling out the party in its resolution ‘BJP: Desh ki aasha, vipaksha ki hatasha’ (BJP: Country’s hope, opposition’s despair). The Congress is “the mother of instability and the synonym for India Alliance’s conflict, bitterness, and politics of deceit”, the seven-page resolution, which was adopted unanimously, said.   

“This alliance is a strange amalgamation. The Congress is anti-poor. The Congress and its allied parties are submerged in the quagmire of corruption. Congress policies are divisive and detrimental to Indian culture. Congress has opposed every progressive step. Their politics oscillates between support and opposition. The politics of violence and lawlessness is practised by the India Alliance. The downfall of Congress is certain,” it said.

Congress’s “insult to the country’s constitutional institutions and scientists”, and its “immature and irresponsible politics,” will ensure this downfall, it said. It also referred to the allegations of excesses at Sandeshkhali in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district against the now-absconding Trinamool Congress strongman, Shahjahan Sheikh.

“Congress and most of its allies included in the I.N.D.I.A. bloc have been united in the politics of anarchy and violence in the country. Recently, shocking incidents have come to light in Sandeshkhali, West Bengal. The TMC has been continuously trying to suppress the voice of the public by targeting BJP workers in West Bengal. There have been many incidents of murder and violence against BJP workers by the CPI, CP-M, and their allies in Kerala,” the resolution read.

(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)

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