Mumbai, November 12
Union Home Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on Congress and NCP(SCP) while addressing a public gathering in Borivali here ahead of the Assembly election in Maharashtra.
He also hit out at NCP (SCP) President Sharad Pawar for not giving the classical language status to Marathi for decades.
Throughout his speech, he highlighted how the opposition parties, including the Maha Vikas Agadhi (MVA) and the Congress, have protested the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) and abrogation of Article 370, but they have been successfully implemented anyway.
"For decades there was a demand to give the status of classical language to Marathi language. Sharad Pawar, you were a minister at the centre for 10 years and were also the Chief Minister of the state, what did you do? Well, he did not do it, but our Modi honoured Maharashtra by giving Marathi the status of a classical language," Shah added.
The Union Cabinet approved the classical status for Marathi language on October 4, 2024.
"In Karnataka, the Waqf board transferred the lands of farmers, 100-300 year old temples, the houses of people, but not to worry, it won't happen in Maharashtra. Modi brought in corrections to the law of Waqf board. I ask you people should the law be changed? The Agadhi is protesting, (Sharad) Pawar, open your ears and hear this, however much you protest, the law on Waqf is going to be passed" he said during the gathering.
The party has alleged that Waqf designations were added to land records for 44 properties in Indi and Chadachan taluks of Vijayapura district in Karnataka without proper notification, following a meeting between Karnataka Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan and district officials.
After protests, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that he has instructed officials to stop issuing notices to farmers and to withdraw those already issued.
While speaking on the terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, Amit Shah claimed that terrorism has been "uprooted" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including Naxalism being uprooted from all over the country
"They said that if Article 370 is removed then the country will have rivers of blood flowing. I said, it has been six years, forget rivers of blood, no one even dares to throw a small kankar (small stone). Narendra Modi has uprooted terrorism from the country, he has uprooted naxalism and thrown it away," he said.
Hitting out at the Congress for the resolution passed by the J-K assembly, he said whatever the resolution might say, Article 370 is not coming back.
"Just now Congress party also introduced a resolution in Kashmir assembly that they will get Article 370 back, People of Borivali, I say before you, Rahul (Gandhi) baba or even the next four generations of his can come, but Article 370 cannot return. The whole country accepts that Kashmir is an integral part of India," he said.
J-K Assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution seeking a dialogue for "restoration of special status and constitutional guarantees" to the Union Territory. The resolution was passed by a voice vote with BJP oppposing it.
Amit Shah also praised the construction of Ram Mandir, saying that earlier he used to be mocked for saying 'mandir wahi baneyenge."
He said, "We said for years that we will make mandir at Ram Janmabhoomi. Rahul used to say that mandir wahin banyenge, tithi nahi baneyenge, they used to mock me. Brothers and sisters, look at the blessing of Ram, Modi was made PM again in 2019, and case bhi jeeta, bhumi poojan bhi kiya, nirman bhi kiya aur pran pratishta kar karka jai shri Ram bhi kiya (he won the case, did the bhoomi poojan, constructed it also, did pran pratishta and did Jai Shri Ram too). Just not Ram Mandir, we also made the Kashi vishwanath corridor which was destroyed by Aurungzeb, and remember brothers and sisters, the Somnath temple is going to become one of gold."
"This is PM Modi's government, BJP's government, jo kehti hai who karti hai (What we say, we do)," he added.
Praising the implementation of Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) in the country, which grants a passage for citizenship for persecuted non-Muslim migrants--including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians--who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
"We said in 2019, that if BJP comes to power, then Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, the hindus and others which come from there, we will give them citizenship. They protested, but CAA did become a law, and gave citizenship to Hindus," he added.
On the removal of triple talaq law, he said, "Tell me people, should triple talaq have been removed or not? Rahul Gandhi just protested but PM Modi just finished Triple talaq."
Looking back at the 'fulfilled promises' of the BJP, he said that in contrast, when Mallikarjun Kharge advised party functionaries to not make promises which cannot be fulfilled, claiming that the same thing might happen in Maharashtra, where the promises will not get fulfilled.
He said, "Just a few days ago, I presented the BJP's manifesto before the people of the state and on the same day Kharge ji presented the Maha Aghadi manifesto before the people. A few days before that, Kharge ji advised the Congress to make such promises which can be fulfilled. Because the promises made by Congress in Karnataka, Himachal and Telangana were not fulfilled. The promises made by Aghadi in Maharashtra will also not be fulfilled."