Dhule- Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday asserted that Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, will not be restored even if Congress stalwart and late PM Indira Gandhi comes down from heaven.
The BJP’s star campaigner sought to corner the Congress over Muslim reservation and accused the main opposition party of deliberately stalling construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya for years.
With just a week left for the high-stakes assembly polls in Maharashtra, Shah stepped up his campaigning for the ruling Mahayuti front, of which the BJP is a member, and addressed three rallies in a day where he attacked the Congress and its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ally Shiv Sena (UBT).
Addressing a rally at Dhule in North Maharashtra, Shah said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should remember that even if his “fourth generation were to come”, Muslims won’t get reservations meant for Dalits, tribals and other backward castes.
“A few days ago, Ulemas (Muslim scholars) met the president of Congress party and said Muslims should be given reservation (in jobs and education). If reservation has to be given to Muslims, then reservation for SCs/STs/OBCs will have to be cut. Rahul Baba, not only you but even if your four generations were to come, they cannot cut the quota meant for SCs/STs/OBCs and give it to Muslims,” Shah insisted.
The Union minister made it clear that Article 370, scrapped in 2019 by the BJP-led central government, won’t be restored under any circumstances.
“Even if Indira Gandhi were to return from heaven, Article 370 won’t be restored,” the BJP stalwart told the gathering.
Describing the opposition MVA grouping as an “Aurangzeb Fan Club”, Shah noted the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance abides by the ideals of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and freedom fighter Veer Savarkar.
At another election meeting in Jalgaon, also in North Maharashtra, the former BJP president averred that if the MVA wins the November 20 assembly polls, the state will turn into an ATM (automated teller machine) for the Congress.
“They (MVA) will withdraw funds from Maharashtra by using the state’s resources and send the money to Delhi. In contrast, if the BJP-led Mahayuti forms a government, the Modi administration will ensure greater development for Maharashtra,” Shah said at the meeting in Chalisgaon town.
Targeting Gandhi, the Lok Sabha MP from Raebareli, he accused his party of making false promises and misleading people.
“Recently, Rahul Gandhi was seen waving a copy of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution. He used the same copy while taking the oath in Parliament. When some journalists got their hands on the very copy, it had blank pages. By showing a fake Constitution, Rahul broke the trust of people and insulted Babasaheb. Apparently, you have never read the Constitution, Rahul baba,” Shah said.
The “Sonia-Manmohan regime” didn’t act against Naxalism and terrorism for 10 years (2004-14) due to vote bank politics, the home minister opined.
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