Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday charged the Congress-led Opposition with being soft on terror and indifferent towards the uplift of deprived castes, and alleged that their return to power could cause "riots, atrocities and poverty".
Addressing an election rally in the Katihar Lok Sabha constituency of Bihar, the former BJP president also credited his party with having given the nation, in Narendra Modi, its "first OBC prime minister" who has "put an end" to dynasty politics.
"Modi wiped out Naxalism and reined in terrorism. When the Congress was in power, terrorists struck at will and nobody could muster the courage to retaliate. In contrast, the attacks in Uri and Pulwama were followed quickly by surgical strikes and Balakot airstrikes. Our security personnel went across the border with Pakistan and the terrorists were bumped off in their own hideouts," said Shah.
He also slammed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for taking exception to raising the issue of abrogation of Article 370 in poll rallies outside Jammu and Kashmir, saying "it is a matter concerning the whole country".
"People from Rajasthan and Bihar have shed their blood fighting the insurgency there. Now Kashmir has been fully integrated with the rest of the country," he said.
In his speech that lasted barely 15 minutes, Shah, who spoke in the presence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) president, also dwelt at length on the alleged anti-OBC stance of the Congress, which has sought to reach out to the backward classes with the promise of caste census, besides forming alliances with parties like the RJD that have roots in the Mandal movement.
"The Congress slept on the Kaka Kalelkar Commission report and when recommendations of Mandal Commission were implemented, it opposed the same for years," alleged the BJP leader, who added it was under Modi that the OBC Commission was granted constitutional status.
"Not only is Modi the first OBC PM, but he also heads a cabinet in which 35 per cent of the ministers come from backward classes. This has all been made possible by the BJP," said the home minister, who urged voters of Katihar to vote for JD(U) MP Dulal Chandra Goswami and help the PM secure a third consecutive term in office.
"If you go with the RJD and the Congress you will have to contend with riots, atrocities, poverty and food shortage. If you vote for the NDA you will continue to reap the benefits of the double-engine government," said Shah.
Shah said that Nitish Kumar brought electricity to the remotest of villages in Bihar.
"But the INDI alliance wants to take the state back to the lantern age," said the BJP leader, referring to the poll symbol of the RJD.
He also charged the RJD with having ushered in a "jungle raj" in the state while in power and accused its supremo Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav of "sitting in the lap of Congress".
The home minister also reeled out a number of statistics to highlight the progress made by the country under the Modi government.
"In the last 10 years, on average, one university has been established every week, two new colleges have been set up every day and 55 patents have been registered every day. Besides, an average of 1 lakh mudra loans have been given to poor entrepreneurs every day," claimed Shah.
"Modi's rule has brought development to the entire country, including Bihar. The central outlay for Bihar during the 10 years of the previous Congress government stood at 2.80 lakh crore. Under Modi, it shot up to 9.23 lakh crore," he added.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
