Bemetara: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the Bemetara district in Chhattisgarh has become a centre of “love jihad” and asserted no one would dare do such an act if the BJP is voted to power in the state.
He accused Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, a senior Congress leader, of insulting Lord Mahadev by naming a betting app after him, and called him a “prepaid CM”.
Shah said the BJP has worked for the welfare of OBC communities, giving them wide representation in the central ministry, Parliament and state assemblies, and added the saffron party has given the country its first Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) from an extremely backward class.
The senior BJP leader alleged Baghel during his tenure as CM had turned the Durg division, once an education hub, into a centre of betting.
He addressed three rallies – in Bemetara, Janjgir-Champa and Korba districts – on the last day of campaigning for the second and final phase of elections in the state on November 17.
The BJP has fielded local resident Ishwar Sahu, whose son Bhuneshwar Sahu was killed in a communal clash in Biranpur village of Bemetara in April, from the Saja assembly seat in the district.
“Ishwar Sahu is not only a candidate but a symbol of fight for justice. Under Bhupesh Kakka’s rule (referring to CM), communal elements lynched Sahu’s son Bhuneshwar Sahu. People of Bhupesh Kakka offered a cheque and job to Ishwar ji asking him not to seek justice. But I would like to thank Ishwar ji that he refused and sought justice,” Shah said at the rally in Saja.
He vowed to send Bhuneshwar Sahu’s killers to jail after the BJP comes to power.
“It is our responsibility to ensure justice for Bhuneshwar Sahu. No one will be allowed to violate the law.
Every murderer of Bhuneshwar Sahu will be sent to jail… the countdown of the exit of Bhupesh Kakka has started,” the former BJP president said.
Shah urged voters to bring his party to power, saying a BJP government would ensure justice to Bhuneshwar Sahu and teach a lesson to those indulging in politics of appeasement.
Further slamming the Congress government in Chhattisgarh, Shah said Bemetara has turned into a centre of “love jihad” under Baghel’s chief ministership.
“Love jihad” is a term often used by right-wing activists to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage.
Sahu, Kurmi and Gond communities were under the target of it (love jihad) while the Bhupesh Baghel government remained asleep, he alleged.
“Who will wake them up? It’s your votes. I promise, you bring BJP to power, no one will dare commit such an act,” Shah asserted.
Targeting the CM over the alleged Mahadev betting app scam, Shah said, ” Bhupesh Kakka destroyed the Durg division. During the Raman Singh-led BJP government, the Durg division had become a centre of education. Bhupesh Baghel turned it into a centre of satta (betting).”
The BJP leader maintained Baghel could have given his own name to the online platform, which is at the centre of an alleged scam.
“Why did he use the name Mahadev? Modi ji sent Chandrayaan to the moon and named the spot (where it landed) Shivshakti, expressing reverence to Lord Shiva and Maa Shakti. But Bhupesh Kakka named a betting app after Mahadev and insulted him,” he said.
The Congress CM has pushed youths into the business of betting, Shah alleged and cautioned voters against giving him a second term in office.
“If Bhupesh Baghel returns to power, citizens won’t be able to utter the name of Mahadev. He has committed the sin of pushing youths into the business of betting,” the BJP leader stated.
Hitting out at the state government over corruption, Shah accused Baghel of turning Chhattisgarh into a “collection centre and an ATM of the Congress”.
“The Chhattisgarh chief minister is a prepaid CM. He will work only as much as you bribe. Bhupesh Kakka has turned the entire Chhattisgarh into a collection centre and an ATM of Congress,” he remarked.
Shah accused the Congress of insulting backward classes and said the Grand Old Party did not give the national OBC commission the status of a constitutional body when it was in power at the Centre.
The BJP leader said his party has worked for the welfare of backward classes.
“They (Congress) never implemented the Kaka Saheb Kalelkar commission report. (Former PM) Rajiv Gandhi opposed the implementation of the Mandal Commission report. Only Narendra Modi Ji gave constitutional recognition to the backward class commission. The BJP gave the country first prime minister from an extremely backward class,” Shah maintained.
The Kalelkar panel was set up in 1953 to determine criteria to identify people as socially and educationally backward, and suggest steps to improve their condition.
“In the Modi government, there are 27 ministers from the OBCs. Out of 300 Lok Sabha MPs of the BJP, 100 from the OBC communities. Out of 1,358 MLAs of the party, 27 per cent come from the OBCs. Rahul Baba (Congress MP Rahul Gandhi) only does work to abuse the OBCs,” he said.
The BJP leader accused the Congress of creating hurdles in the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
“For 70 years, the Congress hindered the building of Ram Temple (in Ayodhya). But Modi Ji laid the foundation of the Ram Temple and on January 22, 2024, consecration of the idol at the temple will be done,” he said.
“When I was the party president, Rahul Gandhi used to mock me saying ‘Mandir Wahi Banayenge Tithi Nahi Batayenge’. But today I want to tell him the date of the consecration of Lord Ram’s idol in Ayodhya. That is January 22,” Shah said.
Addressing another rally in Janjgir-Champa, Shah said if the BJP comes to power, a special package will be introduced to encourage the ‘kosa’ (silk) textile industry in the state.
He also spoke about the removal of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
“Modi ji abrogated Article 370 and made J&K an integral part of India forever. But when I stood in Parliament to move the proposal to scrap Article 370, Rahul Baba stood up and said ‘ if it is done then blood will flow on the streets of Kashmir’. Five years have passed by, let alone blood, no one has dared to pelt a stone,” he asserted.
“The Congress continued with Article 370 and sheltered terrorism to serve its politics of vote bank and appeasement. Modi ji secured the nation with surgical and air strikes and banned the PFI. Modi Ji also cracked down on Rohingya infiltrators,” he added.
At the rally in Korba, Shah announced that if BJP comes to power in the state, a compensation of Rs 7.5 lakh will be given to the kin of people killed in elephant attacks.
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