LUCKNOW: Reiterating that the BJP would walk away with a better tally in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls than 2014 in Uttar Pradesh, party chief Amit Shah on Sunday challenged the united opposition saying that the saffron party would increase its seats from UP despite the SP-BSP-Congress alliance.
He made it clear that UP was top priority for the BJP as the route to Delhi's throne would pass through country's most populous and politically crucial state.
"The BJP will win no less than 74 seats in UP even if Bua-Bhatija-Baba (BSP-SP-Congress) join hands. It will not make any difference to BJP, which will emerge stronger than ever after Lok Sabha polls," claimed Shah while addressing a gathering after renaming of Mughal Sarai railway station as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya railway station in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Railway minister Piyush Goel.
Shah attacked the opposition for maintaining silence over the issue of National Register of Citizen and said the BJP was committed to throwing out illegal immigrants from the country.
Asking the opposition leaders to clear their stand on the NRC, Shah said he had been trying to get a response from Rahul Gandhi for the past four days on the Congress’ stand on the issue.
"Mamata Banerjee and Congress say that NRC should not be done. I ask Rahul baba whether NRC should be conducted in the country or not. But, he does not answer. You all should say whether Bangladeshi infiltrators should be pushed out or not. "Today I would like to ask the SP, the BSP and the Congress whether they want the infiltrators to stay in the country or they should be driven out. I know the answer of the people of UP. The answer is that not even a single infiltrator should be allowed to stay in India," he said.
He also exhorted the Congress to clear its stand on the 123rd Constitutional Amendment Bill 2018 to be passed by the Rajya Sabha, where the NDA lacks the numbers.
Meant to provide strength to BJP's Dalit and backward outreach ahead of 2019, the Bill that was passed by the Lok Sabha provides constitutional status to the commission for Other Backward Classes.