HYDERABAD: Accusing the Opposition of protecting Bangladeshi infiltrators, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday dubbed the INDIA bloc’s ‘Vote Bachao’ rally held in Delhi on Sunday a ‘Save Infiltrators’ rally.
The BJP-organised Maha Padayatra in Hyderabad, in support of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), drew thousands of people, with party cadre raising slogans of “Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao”. Shah began with a visit to the Bhagyalakshmi temple before joining the march from Basheerbagh to Moazzam Jahi Market.
Addressing a public meeting in the evening, Shah paid tributes to the Iron Man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and revolutionaries Komaram Bheem and Ramji Gond. He said Hyderabad would not have become part of the country had Patel not ensured the Nizam’s surrender.
The Union minister then took a swipe at the Leader of the Opposition, saying Rahul Gandhi could become Prime Minister only in a mock Parliament.
Dismissing allegations that 13 crore voters had been removed from the electoral rolls, Shah stated that six crore were people who had shifted their place of residence, while three crore were deceased persons.
“There are three crore persons who have entered India illegally. Should their votes not be removed? The BJP won the polls in Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam even before the SIR exercise was launched. Modi became PM with popular backing from the people. How can the Congress blame EVMs when it loses and rejoice when it wins? The party is on a ventilator,” he said.
Questioning whether the votes of those who had died should not be removed, Shah accused the Congress of indulging in vote-bank politics.
Also accusing the Congress and the INDIA bloc of conspiring to halt the SIR exercise, the Union minister alleged that the Congress wanted to use infiltrators as its vote bank. He questioned how Rahul Gandhi could extend his support to them.
He recalled that Modi had won the 2014 and 2019 elections with thumping majorities, even before the SIR exercise. Challenging the Congress to a debate in Parliament on SIR and EVMs, he asked whether the party was ready.
Questioning the allegations of EVM misuse, Shah asked how the Congress had won Telangana if that was the case. He also asked how non-BJP parties had come to power in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Accusing the Congress of indulging in corruption, he alleged that taxes were being collected by Rahul Gandhi and Revanth Reddy and that the state had become an ATM for the party. He said only the BJP could stop the Congress from indulging in corruption. Asking whether the BRS and MIM could stop it, he urged people to ponder the question.
Shah said the Congress had failed to keep its promises in the states ruled by it and urged party cadre to work with conviction to bring the BJP to power in Telangana.
Union Minister for Mines G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar, BJP state president N Ramachander Rao, parliamentary board member Dr K Laxman, MPs Raghunandan Rao, Eatala Rajender, Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, DK Aruna, Dharmapuri Arvind and Goddam Nagesh participated in the rally.
Later, Ramachander Rao thanked the party cadre and others who had actively participated in the padayatra.
