Amit Shah says Modi invincible, calls poll ‘battle of Panipat’

New Delhi: Comparing the coming Lok Sabha polls with the “decisive” third battle of Panipat between the Marathas and Afghans, BJP president Amit Shah on Friday asserted that the elections will be a battle of ideologies whose outcome will impact centuries.

He asked the party cadre to go to people without fear as the Narendra Modi-led government has remained untainted despite unsuccessful efforts by the Opposition to make an issue out of nothing, a veiled reference to the Rafale jet deal. Raising the emotive issue of Ram Mandir, Mr Shah said that the BJP wants the temple to be constructed in Ayodhya at the earliest through constitutional means and accused the Congress of creating hurdles in the way of resolution of the issue.

In his inaugural speech at the two-day BJP national convention, he sounded confident that Modi-led NDA will retain power as the people are firmly standing behind the Prime Minister “as a rock” as he has tirelessly worked to provide benefits to all sections of the society.

The BJP president dismissed the proposed grand alliance of Opposition parties 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.

Highlighting Mr Modi as a performer, Mr Shah hailed him as an “ajeya yoddha” (an invincible warrior) and said the coming elections are a battle between two ideologies, where on one side has the leadership of Mr Modi who is backed by the ideology of cultural nationalism, antyodaya and “garib kalyan”, and the other side (proposed grand alliance) has neither a neta (leader) or a “niti” (policy) and has come together due to greed for power.

Attacking the Congress for manufacturing lies on the Rafale issue, Mr Shah said that the Supreme Court gave a clean chit to the Modi government over a petition filed by the Congress’ B-team. He said that the Congress is rattled that the Modi government has remained untainted and has given no issue to the Opposition before the polls.

Though Mr Shah hailed the various achievements undertaken by the Modi government to benefit various sections of the society, it was BJP president’s remark on the Ram Mandir that received the most thunderous applause from the party workers, who had gathered at the Ramlila Maidan, for the two-day convention.

“The BJP wants the Ram Mandir at that very site, let there be no doubt…we have said that the construction will be done through Constitutional manner...but the Congress keeps creating hurdle in the way (of the construction),” said Mr Shah as he mentioned how senior Congress leader and lawyer Kapil Sibal had asked the court to hear the matter after 2019 Lok Sabha polls and asked the Opposition party to clarify its stand on the issue.

Mr Shah asserted that the party is making all efforts to ensure that the matter is resolved in the Supreme Court as soon as possible.

The BJP top brass, including Mr Modi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari and party chief ministers and former chief ministers, along with other senior leaders were on the dias. The party claimed that nearly 12,000 aparty leaders and workers from all states and UTs are participating the two day long event.

The BJP president’s speech that last more than an hour had a mention of 10 per cent reservation for general category in education and jobs for a “level playing field”, GST, notebandi, measures to check corruption, triple talaq, surgical strike across LoC, Citizenship Amendment Bill, NRC and the proposed grand alliance of Opposition parties, which the BJP chief claimed was nothing but a “dhakosla (farce)”.

Mr Shah said those who could not see eye to eye have been forced to join hands against Mr Modi-led NDA, which signifies the ruling alliance’s strength. However, political pundits feel that if such the a grand alliance is stitched, it could severly dent BJP’s poll prospects.

Asserting that the proposed grand alliance will not have any national impact. Mr Shah also asserted that even if  “Bua-Bhatija” (BSP supremo Mayawati and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav) join hands, BJP’s tally will only increase in UP.

Thanking the Modi government for the 10 per cent reservation for the general category, Mr Shah said that the Modi government has “fulfilled” the dreams of crores of youths with 10 per cent reservation in jobs and education for the poor from general category, and described the constitution amendment Bill as one of the most important legislations passed by Parliament.

On the proposed grand alliance of the Opposition parties, Mr Shah said that the BJP led NDA had defeated the regional players, who are trying to form the Opposition alliance and took a jibe, saying that politics needs chemistry and not physics.

He said those parties which could not see eye to eye are forced to join hands not for national interest but their own interest and know that they alone cannot defeat the Modi-led “Vijaya Yatra” of the NDA.

Blaming the earlier UPA government for giving bad loans and supporting Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi, who have fled India over economic offence, Mr Shah said that these people prospered under the UPA regime but fled when the NDA came to power as they were scared of the “chowkidar” (Modi), who will bring them back.

On the issue of initiatives for the farming community, Mr Shah challenged Congress president Rahul Gandhi and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar to compare all parametres of farm produce procured during their regime and the NDA and the latter’s will be eight times higher than the UPA’s.