Hate speeches like ‘goli maro’ may have harmed BJP, admits Shah

New Delhi: Speaking for the first time in public after Delhi defeat, BJPs former President and Union Home Minister Amit Shah conceded that his assessment of getting 45 seats in Delhi poll turned out to be wrong.

“My assessment was 45 seats. It turned out to be wrong,” he said. Shah said while BJP may have lost, but it “expanded its ideology”.

While he defended his “current through EVM” comment, Shah called certain comments made by BJP leaders during the campaign unwarranted. Union Home Minister said speeches like goli maro and ‘Indo-Pak match’ should not have been made by BJP leaders during the recent Delhi Assembly election campaign and that such remarks may have resulted in the party’s defeat. “The BJP disassociated from them,” he said, while speaking at Times Now Summit in New Delhi on Thursday.

Amit Shah said the BJP will play the role of a responsible opposition in the Delhi assembly.

The Union Home Minister, however, asserted that the result of the polls was not a mandate on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). He offered to have a talk with anyone who wants to discuss issues related to CAA with him.