Opposition giving tickets to 'bahubalis' without realising UP has changed: Amit Shah

Chitrakoot/Pratapgarh (UP), Apr 29: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Monday accused the Opposition of giving tickets to "bahubalis" (strongmen) in Uttar Pradesh, asserting that their presence will not have any impact as the Yogi Adityanath government has been acting tough against them.

He also reiterated that the BJP government, after coming to power, will scrap Article 370 of the Constitution which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing an election meeting in Pratapgarh, Shah said, "We want to remove Article 370 from Kashmir, but Rahul Gandhi does not want this... when Modiji's government comes back in power, it (Article 370) will be abrogated."

Attacking the Opposition on the issue of Kashmir, he said, "Omar Abdullah says there should be another PM for Kashmir... his friends are Mayawati, Akhilesh and Rahul Gandhi... all these together want to separate Kashmir from India."

In Jaunpur, the BJP leader said his party will never indulge in vote bank politics nor compromise with the security of the country, "but Rahul, Akhilesh and Mayawati can do anything for votes". Shah alleged that "goons" of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) used to work as land mafias, but ever since the "anti-land mafia squads" were set up by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, encroachment of land has stopped.

"The people from the 'grand adulteration' have given tickets to 'bahubalis' in Uttar Pradesh, but such strongmen do not have an impact here," he said addressing rallies in Chitrakoot and Pratapgarh districts. The BJP has been referring to the Opposition alliance as "mahamilavati" (grand adulteration).

"The 'mahamilavatis' are not able to understand yet that Uttar Pradesh has changed... Now, it is the Yogi government that is at the helm," Shah said. "Now, the strongmen have no impact here. 'Ab bahubalion ko ulta latka kar seedha kar diya jata hai' (Now, the musclemen are set right by hanging them upside down)," he said.

The BJP president also termed Congress chief Rahul Gandhi the "mahamilavati" leader of the grand alliance. "If temperatures in country increase, he (Rahul) takes leave and goes out of the country.... Even his mother (Sonia Gandhi) is not able to find him," he said, adding Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not taken leave in 20 years.

Shah accused BSP supremo Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav of making similar speeches of working for the poor. "For 25 years, the people of Uttar Pradesh gave them opportunity, but they did nothing for the poor," he said. "You gave one chance to Modi ji. When he became the prime minister, he worked for the poor and benefitted them with many schemes in the past five years," he said.

Listing the works undertaken by the Modi government, the BJP leader said a defence corridor and expressway, linking Jhansi to Etawah, will help in the development of the Bundelkhand region. He said there was mourning only at two places when the IAF air strikes were carried out-- one in Pakistan and the other in the offices of Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi.

Shah also alleged that the 'guru' of Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda, is of the view that action should not be taken against terrorists, rather they should be engaged in dialogue. He said his party will "oust intruders" by bringing in the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The BJP chief said the SP, BSP and Congress only talked about a backward caste commission, but did nothing for getting it recognition. He added Modi hailed from the most backward caste and so was working for the poor. "There had been talks about giving reservation to the poor among unreserved categories. The Modi government extended it without touching the quota of backwards," Shah said.

PTI