Sonia Gandhi Trying To Launch "Rahul Yaan" For 20th Time: Amit Shah

The senior BJP leader asked people to vote for parties that would strengthen democracy.

Mumbai:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday slammed leaders of Opposition’s INDIA grouping for ‘promoting dynasties’, and urged the youth to vote for those who strengthen democracy.

“Sonia Gandhi’s launch of the ‘Rahul Yaan (craft)’ has failed miserably 19 times. Efforts are on for the 20th attempt,” Mr Shah said, addressing a youth rally in north Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district.

During his tour of Akola, Jalgaon and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in the state on Tuesday, Mr Shah asked the crowds at the rallies to vote for parties that would strengthen democracy, adding the youth will get opportunities only in the BJP.

“(Prime Minister Narendra) Modi is trying to put a man on the moon, and (Congress leader) Sonia (Gandhi) is trying to launch her son Rahul for the 20th time. She tried 19 times, but he never made it to the destination,” Mr Shah said at the Jalgaon rally.

“Sonia Gandhi is trying to make Rahul PM, Uddhav (Thackeray) wants to make his son Aaditya chief minister, (Sharad) Pawar wants to make his daughter chief minister, Mamata Didi (Mamata Banerjee) wants to make her nephew chief minister, and (MK) Stalin wants to make his son chief minister,” the senior BJP leader said.

“Sonia Gandhi’s launch of ‘Rahul Yaan‘ has failed miserably 19 times,” he said.

How can parties promoting ‘parivarvaad‘ (dynastic politics) within their organisations strengthen democracy in the country, Mr Shah asked, speaking at the youth rally organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party in Jalgaon.

All the INDI alliance parties which are opposing PM Modi promote dynastic politics, Mr Shah said. “Voting for the BJP means voting for a bright future of youth and for building a great India,” Mr Shah said. “Voting for BJP means voting for making Narendra Modi the PM for a third time,” he added.

Attacking the opposition MVA alliance in Maharashtra, Mr Shah said there is a three-wheeled Maha Vikas Aghadi ‘auto’ in the state and all its tyres are punctured. “Can this punctured auto ensure development in the state? No,” the senior BJP leader said.

When Atal Bihari Vajpayee left office as prime minister, the country’s economy had risen to become the 11th largest in the world, while Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi kept the country in the same position during the ten years of the UPA government, Shah said. PM Modi made the country the fifth largest economy, he added.

A vote for the BJP meant a “vote for Bharat” and making Modi prime minister for the third time, Mr Shah said, adding that it also meant a vote for the glorious future of the youth.

“Modi’s guarantee is that you give him a third term, and he will make the country the third largest economy in the world. He has a report card of ten years and a vision for the next 25 years. You do not always get such a leader,” he said.

Mr Shah also asked the youth whether they felt they had any place in parties that promote dynasties. “The only party where you have opportunity is the BJP, and your leader Narendra Modi is always there for you. He has made the country safe, and wiped out terrorism and the naxal menace,” the Union minister said.

Mr Shah also claimed that Rahul Gandhi, while opposing Modi government’s decision to abrogate provisions under Article 370, had said that blood would flow on the streets of Jammu and Kashmir as a consequence.

“Forget about blood, no one dared to throw even pebbles,” the BJP leader said.

In an apparent reference to the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Mr Shah said it was time to “liberate” Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar from “new Nizams”.

“Previously known as Aurangabad, the entire Marathwada region was under the Nizam rule. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel freed Marathwada from Nizam, and now it is time to liberate Sambhajinagar from the new Nizams,” Mr Shah said at the rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

In the 2019 general elections, AIMIM’s Imtiaz Jalil had defeated undivided Shiv Sena’s Chandrakant Khaire, supported by the BJP.

“We have worked tirelessly for 10 years. We have a track record of 10 years, and a roadmap for the next 25 years,” Mr Shah said.

Union Minister Raosaheb Danve, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and former chief minister Ashok Chavan also addressed the rally.

“I wish to ask the leaders of the INDI Alliance, what have they given to Maharashtra during 2004-14,” Mr Shah said, referring to the period when the Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre and in the state.

Earlier in the day, Mr Shah reviewed BJP’s election preparations in North Maharashtra and Vidarbha at a meeting in Akola.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)