KARAIKAL: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday accused Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of "lying repeatedly" regarding the India-US trade deal and claimed that the interests of farmers and fishermen have been fully protected.
Addressing a BJP rally in Puducherry's Karaikal, the minister alleged that Gandhi has "started a new tradition of telling lies daily."
Shah said trade agreements signed by Modi with the European Union, the UK, and the US would benefit fishermen and farmers and would not cause harm.
He said that during Modi’s recent visit to Malaysia, the Prime Minister promised a Thiruvalluvar chair in a university there and scholarships in Thiruvalluvar’s name for Malaysian Tamil students. He also said Tamil had received minority language status in Malaysia.
Shah alleged that during the earlier Congress rule at the Centre, Pakistan-based terrorists carried out attacks almost every day, and the Prime Minister, Home Minister, and Defence Minister failed to respond.
Referring to the 2019 Pulwama attack in which he stated 40 CRPF personnel were killed, he said that, unlike previous Congress governments, the Modi government entered terrorist bases, carried out air strikes, and launched Operation Sindoor to put an end to terrorism. He added that today no evil force dares to challenge Modi’s leadership.
He alleged that farmers' interests were "sold off" during the UPA regime headed by the late Manmohan Singh.
The BJP leader's comments came shortly after Rahul Gandhi on Saturday repeated his charges against the central government and reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "surrendered" before the US.
Gandhi warned that the agreement could destroy India’s textile sector, which he said supports nearly five crore (50 million) families.
"Narendra "surrender" Modi and his ministers have made an agreement that is likely to inflict deep damage" on textile and cotton farming sectors, he said in a post on X.
Gandhi had on Friday met with the leaders of 17 major farm unions and discussed the need for a nationwide movement to oppose the India-US interim trade deal.
Shah expressed confidence of an NDA victory in Puducherry, claiming the BJP-led alliance would secure a clear majority of over 60% in the upcoming 2026 Assembly elections.
“The people of Puducherry have faith in the BJP and the NR Congress. In the 2021 elections, you gave us 44 per cent of the votes. This time, with the BJP, NR Congress and AIADMK together, we will cross 60 per cent vote share and win 24 seats,” he said, addressing a BJP public meeting, “Nallatchi Thodarattum, Pudhuvai Malarattum,” at Sandhai ground in Karaikal.
Speaking to the crowd, Shah said he had come to Puducherry for two main reasons: to explain the work done by the “double-engine government” led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and Chief Minister N. Rangasamy in the Union Territory, and to expose what he called the failures of the INDIA alliance.
Shah claimed that during the last five years, the NDA government in Puducherry had reduced corruption, strengthened local autonomy, and brought political stability. He sharply criticised the previous Congress government under V. Narayanasamy, accusing it of widespread corruption and misuse of development funds.
Shah alleged massive corruption in CENTAC admissions, including auctioning SC/ST reserved seats. He said that a recent CAG report revealed irregularities of Rs. 15,000 crore, equal to Puducherry’s three-year budget.
He said not a single industry was started during Narayanasamy’s rule, while the present government revived weak cooperative institutions, opened a Zoho software centre, and started a laptop manufacturing unit, which will export to 70 countries. Shah promised job opportunities for youth in IT, data centres, and artificial intelligence sectors.
He added that Prime Minister Modi would soon visit Puducherry to inaugurate and announce major development projects and urged people to continue supporting Modi and Rangasamy.