BENGALURU: At a time when the Opposition is going hammer and tongs against the BJP government and voices of dissent are being heard within the ruling party after the cabinet rejig, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has firmly endorsed Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s leadership.
“Every other day, I keep reading about our Congress friends’ statements about all kinds of speculation. I want to tell everyone that the BJP government in Karnataka will complete its full term and come back to power again for five years with full majority,” Shah asserted, while virtually inaugurating ‘Police Gruha 2025’, a housing project, and the India Reserve Battalion Police (IRBP) unit in Vijayapura, from the Banquet Hall of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Saturday evening.
Launching a broadside against the Congress, Shah said that instead of indulging in such talk, they must work with the people as they are not going to get anything from the BJP, which is a party that works for people.
“A number of development works have been taken up in Karnataka and the state is marching on the development path under Yediyurappa’s leadership. It will continue to do so and PM Modi too has granted a number of projects for Karnataka,” Shah pointed out. He added that the Centre will strongly back the CM and development of the state.
Shah: Centre, state committed to work together on all fronts
The Union Home Minister also said the State and Central governments are committed to working together for development on all fronts, be it infrastructure, financial assistance, modernisation of the police force, establishing new educational institutions in the state or bringing changes in the agriculture sector to provide assistance to farmers. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, other Union and state ministers were present on the occasion.
While the opposition Congress may have been the target of Shah’s attack, his statements also sent out a clear message to Yediyurappa’s detractors within the party, that the central leadership is fully backing the CM. After the recent cabinet rejig, a number of BJP leaders have openly criticized the CM, who, in turn, had asked them to discuss their concerns with the central leadership and not damage the party’s image. Shah said the nationwide vaccination drive that was launched on Saturday is a major milestone in the fight against the pandemic.
“We are proud of the fact that both the vaccines are made in India and three to four more vaccines are in the pipeline. Under Modi’s leadership, India will take the pole position in the global fight against Covid-19,” he said. A comparative study will show that India has done much better than many countries in the fight against Covid as the mortality rate is low, the recovery rate is high and infrastructure required to deal with it was put in place in a short span of time, he noted. Shah also asked the Opposition not to politicise the vaccination drive and stressed that there is a need to work unitedly and create confidence among the people.
‘Yediyurappa did well in Covid fight’
Union Home Minister Amit Shah appreciated CM Yediyurappa’s leadership and the State Government’s efforts in fighting Covid-19. “I have no hesitation to say that under Yediyurappa’s leadership, Karnataka has done very well in fighting Covid,” he said.