Amit Shah at BJP council meeting
BJP President Amit Shah on Friday reiterated that the saffron party wants the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya at the earliest, while accusing Congress of creating "hurdles" in resolution of the issue.
Shah was speaking at the two-day national council meeting of the BJP at Ramlila Maidan on Friday where thousands of BJP leaders from across the country descended down. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief ministers of BJP ruled states were among those attending the important event ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.
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BJP National Convention Day 1: Key Points of Amit Shah's speech
1. Amit Shah said the BJP wants Ram temple constructed in Ayodhya at the earliest. He asserted that the party is making all efforts to ensure that the matter is resolved in the Supreme Court as soon as possible. Shah also accused the Congress of creating hurdles in early resolution of the matter in the court, asking the opposition party to make its stand clear on the matter. In the presence of top party leaders including PM Modi, Shah said BJP wants the issue to be resolved constitionally.
2. During his speech, the BJP chief projected the Lok Sabha polls as a clash of ideologies and likened it to the third battle of Panipat between Marathas and the Afghans Army, saying the election results will be equally significant for the country. He dismissed the proposed grand alliance of opposition against the BJP as a "sham", saying they are a disparate group with neither a leader nor any policy and have been brought together by their greed of power.
3. In his hour-long speech, Shah also emphasised the significance of the upcoming polls and stressed on a number of Modi government's measures -- especially those related to security, curbing corruption and welfare programmes -- and hit out at the Congress for its dare to target Modi on the issue of graft when its president Rahul Gandhi is on bail in a "case of corruption."
4. The BJP chief said nobody other than Modi can give a strong government, adding that it will be an election to give stability to the country's development and the party's expansion. He said the opposition parties know that it is impossible to defeat Modi, who has emerged as the "nucleus" of politics like the Congress was for many decades.
5. He said BJP has the "world's most popular" leader in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shah said the BJP must win the elections to pursue its agenda of cultural nationalism and the poor's welfare.
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6. Noting that from six states in 2014, when it came to power at the Centre, the BJP is ruling 16 states now, he said it will rule south India and form its government in Kerala if the Modi government is re-elected.
7. Amid a growing challenge from opposition parties and the BJP's defeat in the recent state polls, Shah sought to reassure the party cadres about its prospects in the general elections, saying he knew Modi since 1987 and not a single election has been lost under him. He also claimed that the party is on its way to win more than 50 per cent votes in Uttar Pradesh, asserting the saffron alliance's tally will improve from the 73 seats it had won in 2014 out of the state's 80.
8. Mocking the "bua-bhatija" alliance of Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party and Mayawati's BSP, he said they could not stand each other but have now joined hands due to the BJP's fear.
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9. Dismissing "Rahul baba and company's" allegation of corruption against the Modi government on the Rafale issue as baseless, he said somebody told him that the Congress could not face elections without levelling charges against the prime minister whose image, he added, remains unblemished. Mocking Gandhi for his dare to attack the government on the issue of corruption, he said he and his mother Sonia Gandhi are out on bail in a case of graft, a reference to the National Herald matter.
10. Referring to the passage of a bill in Parliament to give 10 per cent quota to the general category poor, Shah said the Modi government has "fulfilled" the dreams of crores of youths and described the constitution amendment bill as one of the most important legislations passed by Parliament.
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