Rahul will be defeated in Raebareli, after that he should settle down in Italy: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday (April 8) accused Rahul Gandhi of advancing Pakistan's agenda. Shah added that the Congress leader would face defeat in Raebareli and suggested that he settle down in Italy, the only remaining option for him.

Hitting out at the INDIA bloc, he said leaders of opposition parties did not attend the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple as they were afraid of their vote bank and warned that they would put a "Babri" lock at the temple if they came to power.

"They might be afraid of their vote bank, we are not. Not only did we get the Ram Temple built, Modi also built the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor that was destroyed by Aurangzeb," he said.

"All of you know who comprises their vote bank. Uttar Pradesh will never support those who shy away from Lord Ram's work," the Union minister said.

'Crackers will be burst in Pakistan'

He also claimed that if the opposition wins the elections, crackers will be burst in Pakistan.

Accusing the Samajwadi Party (SP) of being a dynastic party, the senior BJP leader said the opposition party's chief Akhilesh Yadav is contesting from Kannauj, his wife Dimple Yadav from Manipuri, Aditya Yadav from Budaun, Akshay Yadav from Firozabad and Dharmendra Yadav from Azamgarh.

"Once their children become mature, they will contest from all 80 seats. They are not well-wishers of the Yadav community as well," he claimed.

Shah addressed election rallies in Lakhimpur Kheri, Hardoi and Kannauj.

"Defaming BJP'

At a rally in support of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, the BJP candidate from Lakhimpur Kheri, Shah accused the Congress, SP and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) of defaming the saffron party and Narendra Modi by saying if the prime minister gets 400 seats in the ongoing election, the reservation will be done away with.

Referring to SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav's statement in which he said the Ram temple issue is "bekar' (useless), Shah said, "Ram Gopal says the temple is useless. Remember me, though it is not going to happen, if the opposition parties come to power, they will put a Babri naam ka tala (Babri lock) at the Ram temple." He accused the Congress of stalling the Ram temple issue for 70 years and said, "When you made Modi the prime minister for the second time, he not only won the legal dispute involving the Ram Janmabhoomi but also performed the bhoomi puja (groundbreaking ceremony) of the Ram temple and its pran pratishtha (consecration) was held in January." On the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), Shah said, "Modi has brought a law to give citizenship to those Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains who came to India from Pakistan. A lot of them in Kheri did not have citizenship. (Congress leader) Rahul (Gandhi) and (SP president) Akhilesh (Yadav) say they will withdraw the CAA. Now, no one can do that." Slamming the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), he said, "If the INDI alliance gets the majority, who will be its prime minister? Will Sharad Pawar, Mamata (Banerjee) Didi, (M K) Stalin, Akhilesh or Rahul become the prime minister? It does not even have a prime ministerial candidate. It neither has a leader, nor a policy nor determination." "After the first three phases of the Lok Sabha polls, Modiji has crossed 190 seats... In the fourth phase, under PM Modi's leadership, we are strongly heading towards 400 seats, while the SP, BSP and Congress have been wiped out," Shah said.

He alleged, "The Congress, SP and BSP are defaming BJP and Modi ji by spreading falsehood. They are saying that if Modi ji gets 400 seats then reservation will end." "When Congress got a majority in Karnataka, five per cent reservation was given to Muslims. It went from the OBC quota. In Andhra Pradesh, the reservation was given to Muslims. There too, reservation for backward classes was cut. If BJP gets majority then we will end the anti-constitutional Muslim reservation and give it to the backward classes." Attacking Rahul Gandhi, the Union Home Minister said, "He talks of eradicating poverty in one stroke... Your grandmother (former prime minister Indira Gandhi) imposed Emergency, father (former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi) re-implemented triple talaq and your party has snatched away the reservation of backward communities." "The Congress Party and its cronies -- the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh -- are anti-backwards people. All backward class people should understand this," he said.

The senior BJP leader reiterated that PM Modi has ended terrorism in the country. He also mentioned the surgical strike in Pakistan and the renovation of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor and Somnath temple as the achievements of the BJP government.

'Rahul will be defeated in Raebareli'

In Hardoi, Shah continued his attack on Gandhi and said, "From Amethi, he went to Wayanad and now is in Raebareli where he is going to be defeated. Now he should go to Italy and settle down there as it is the only one place left for him." "Rahul Gandhi took out Bharat Jodo Yatra. After elections, he will have to take out Congress Dhoondo Yatra (Find Congress march)," he said and accused the INDIA bloc parties of being involved in scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore.

On the opposition's attack on alleged misuse of ED and CBI, he said, "I want to tell Rahul (Gandhi) and Akhilesh (Yadav), if you do corruption you will be caught and no one can stop this." In Kannauj, where Akhilesh Yadav is contesting against the BJP's Subrat Pathak, Shah said that for years Mulayam Singh Yadav's family were elected by the people they did not return to the area after winning or losing.

The BJP leader alleged that during the riots in western Uttar Pradesh, they (SP people) were watching dance performances in Saifai, the native place of the Yadav family. He asked the audience whether they would vote for those who run "family ke dukan" (family shop) or those who hear "Janta ke awaz" (voices of the public) from this seat.

(With agency inputs)