Maharajganj: Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday slammed the Samajwadi Party over “power shortages” during its term in Uttar Pradesh, and said the supply was uninterrupted during Ramzan but not on Janmashtami.
Addressing poll rallies in the state, Shah said this Lok Sabha election presents before people a choice between those who constructed the Ram temple and those who opened fire at Ram bhakts.
The home minister addressed four rallies — first at Maharajganj, then Deoria, Ballia and Robertsganj — canvassing for BJP and NDA candidates who are in the fray in the last and the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls on June 1.
Speaking at his rally in Ballia — where the BJP denied a ticket to sitting MP Virendra Singh Mast in favour of former prime minister Chandra Shekhar’s son Neeraj Shekhar — Shah launched a broadside against Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, alleging that mafia used to harass people during its rule.
“When the BJP came to power, Yogi Adityanath was made chief minister and he fixed the mafias,” Shah said.
Uttar Pradesh also faced electricity woes during the SP government, he said.
“There was power supply only for three-four hours. There was uninterrupted supply during Ramzan but not on Janmashtami. (Ramzan me toh puri aati thi, magar Janmashtami ke din nhin aati thi. After the BJP come to power, our Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ensured 18-hour power supply,” Shah said.
At his poll meeting in Deoria in support of BJP candidate Shashank Mani Tripathi, Shah accused the opposition of stalling the construction of the Ram Mandir for over 70 years and said the temple could be built only because of Prime Minister Modi.
“This election is between those who constructed the Ram temple and those who opened fire on Ram bhakts,” he said, referring to the firing at kar sevaks in 1990 when the late Mulayam Singh Yadav was CM.
At his Maharajganj rally also, Shah took a jibe at INDIA bloc allies SP and Congress, saying they have already decided to blame EVMs for their defeat in the polls.
“The counting is on June 4. In the afternoon the two ‘shehzade’ (Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav) will hold a press conference and say we lost the election because EVM was defective,” he said.
“Modi has crossed 310 seats in five rounds of polls. Rahul baba you will not get even 40 seats and the other ‘shehzade’ (Akhilesh Yadav) will just get four seats,” he said at the rally in support of party candidate Pankaj Chaudhary.
The opposition does not have a PM candidate and they say they will have five PMs in five years, Shah said. “This is not a general store but a nation of 130 crore people. Can such a PM work?”
“Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is and will remain a part of India. And we will take it back,” he asserted.
Referring to the Sahara ‘scam’, Shah claimed it occurred when the parties that are currently in opposition were in power. “Akhilesh Yadav, the scam took place in your government! Modi ji started the process of refund (to the customers impacted by the Sahara ‘scam’,” he said.
Sahara group firms were accused of circumventing regulations with Ponzi schemes. The group has denied the charges.
The senior BJP leader promised that a new mega sugar mill will be constructed in Maharajganj if the BJP comes to power again.
At the rally in Deoria, Shah claimed there were rampant terrorist attacks during the Congress government. “When Narendra Modi came to power, we conducted surgical strike and air strike and hit Pakistan in their home and ended terrorism.”
“I want to give a ‘Modi guarantee’, no one can lay hands on the reservation of SC/ST and OBC till even a single MP of BJP is in Parliament. These people have reduced the reservation of backward classes for appeasement politics,” he said.
He praised Aditayanth for his focus on cleanliness and decisive action against mafias. “Yogi ji has cleared mosquitoes with his cleanliness drive and the mafia in his own ‘style’.”
At his Robertsganj rally, Shah alleged that in 1989, the SP government ordered firing on tribals who were protesting against a cement factory there.
“Make Modi the prime minister and all the tribals will get ‘Van Adhikar Patta’ (rights for the use of forests). People associated with the SP have snatched the rights of tribals by illegal mining.
“Modi has reserved a part of the minerals extracted from here for tribals by creating a District Mineral Fund. The BJP has also completed the Kanhar project and provided water to the fields of tribals,” he said.
“This entire area is at the border of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It was affected by Naxalism. The Modi government has ended Naxalism. Six-seven years ago, it was very difficult to get drinking water in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra… in three years, the BJP is going to complete the work of providing tap water to the houses.”
Later, the home minister held a roadshow in Ghazipur in favour of BJP candidate Parasnath Rai. The 2.5-km roadshow started with Shah garlanding the life-size statue of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay in Misra Bazaar of Ghazipur.
It passed through Misharbazar, Lal Darwaza, Dakinganj, Panchrasta, Prakash Talkies Chowk before culminating at Qazi Tola, covering the distance in 1 hour and 15 minutes.
