GUWAHATI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the BJP stands with the “Matri Shakti” and slammed the Congress government in Karnataka for not acting on the complaints of alleged sexual misconduct against Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna.
Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Shah said the Karnataka government is answerable for the inaction in the case.
“The BJP’s stand is clear. We stand with ‘Matri Shakti’ and ‘Nari Shakti’. Narendra Modiji has a commitment to the country that any incident of insult to Nari Shakti anywhere will not be tolerated,” the home minister said.
“The Congress is trying to put the blame on us. But I want to ask whose government is it in Karnataka? It’s the Congress party government. The fake video must have come to your notice because it was released on time. Why has the Congress not taken actions so far? We don’t have to take actions as law and order is a state subject,” Shah said.
“Priyankaji is asking us questions. I want to tell her that instead of questioning me and Modiji, she should ask her Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister what their government is doing. Why is there no probe? We favour a probe,” he said.
He also said that the JD(S) has a core committee meeting on Tuesday and it would possibly take steps on the matter.
He said such incidents have no place anywhere and stringent measures should be taken. This is the BJP’s stand and there should not be any confusion about it, he categorically said.
The home minister said the BJP, which has been running the government at the Centre with full majority for 10 years, did not use the mandate to choke democracy like the Congress did by imposing emergency.
“We used the mandate to abolish Article 370 and triple talaq, bring laws based on Indian culture by replacing British laws and fight Covid,” he said, adding the BJP paved the way for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya following a judgement by the court.
Stating that the Congress wants to create confusion, he said he would like to make it clear that the BJP supports reservation for SC, ST and OBC categories of people. He said if there is any party that has done politics on the issue, it is the Congress.
“In undivided Andhra Pradesh, the Congress gave quota to the Muslims. Because of this, the (scope of) OBC reservation dropped. Then in Karnataka, they brought all Muslims under OBC overnight and gave 4% quota to them. This affected the other backward communities,” the home minister said.
Stating that the BJP views religion-based quota as unconstitutional, he said the party would abolish such reservation when it grabs power in these states and give justice to people belonging to SC, ST and OBC categories.
During the presser, Shah’s original and fake videos on reservation were played on a screen. The home minister said the fake video was the result of the Congress’ frustration.
“Their frustration has reached such a level that they made fake videos of me and some other BJP leaders and circulated them. Luckily, what I said was recorded and today, a prominent Congress leader is facing criminal offence. From the time Rahul Gandhi took command of the Congress, they are taking politics to the lowest level,” Shah said.
Meanwhile, he said according to an internal assessment of the BJP after the two phases of polls in 190 seats, the NDA is far ahead of 100 seats.
“We are heading towards 400 paar. We see a great electoral success in Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand. The BJP is also getting a good response in the south Indian states. This is why, we will surely cross the 400-seat mark,” he said.
