In a recent interview with new agency ANI, the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, shared his views on India’s progress and politics. He expressed his confidence that the people of India are with PM Modi, indicating there is “no competition” for the BJP in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He said that the people of India will decide BJP’s principal opposition in 2024 and that the BJP has not given that label to any party.
When asked about the Bharat Jodo Yatra’s impact and the likelihood of Rahul Gandhi’s emergence as a PM candidate, Shah said that the impact should be seen in the poll-bound states. The north-eastern states of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya will go for assembly polls later this month and were a Congress stronghold in the past.
The BJP created a record when the party ousted the Left Front Government, which ruled Tripura for 35 years since 1978. Shah said that BJP’s slogan of “Chalo Paltai” was not a mere slogan to come to power but to change Tripura’s situation. He expressed his confidence in returning to power in Tripura and said, “We repeated our governments in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. We will repeat our government in Tripura also.”
Shah also said that the Centre’s schemes and welfare policies have reached the grassroots citing his visit to a poor household in Tripura “In Tripura, I went for a meal to a house that belonged to a poor family. They showed me the toilet, gas cylinder, electricity and tap water and Ayushman Bharat card…all this reached the poor family household.” He added, “The house was plastered and there was a sense of pride.”
The Union Minister noted the positive changes marked in people’s lives at the grassroots level due to the Centre’s various initiatives. He said there is wide recognition for India’s achievements worldwide.
He said that India had made progress across all sectors, referring to India as the fastest-growing major economy drawing attention to the Centre’s boost to reduce import dependence and internal security. Shri Amit Shah told ANI in his interview that “During the small period of eight years, we have tried to raise the standard of living of 60 crore poor people in the country and we were also successful.
There have been so many achievements. There are major changes in Railways, there is new policy in the space sector, and we are preparing to be a leader in the sector, with new policy we are moving ahead in the drone sector.”
Reacting sharply to allegations of erasing history of Mughals and changing the names of the cities associated with them, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the BJP state governments have taken “well-thought decisions” which are within their statutory rights.
Shah, however, said that the BJP does not want to remove anybody’s contribution to history. The Home Minister’s remarks came in response to allegations that the BJP is attempting to rewrite the country’s history in which the BJP-ruled states have renamed or are planning to rename cities whose names are associated with Mughal history.
“The contribution of no one should be removed, neither do we want to remove them. But if someone wants to establish the tradition of the country then no one should have any objection,” he said
India’s push towards self-reliance, especially in the defence sector, and a focus on making a manufacturing hub have reduced India’s reliance on other countries by 30 years in 8 years of BJP’s government at the Centre.
When asked to comment on the ongoing Hindenburg-Adani row, the Union Minister stated that the Supreme Court is seized of the case, and it would be inappropriate for him to comment on it. However, he emphasized that the BJP has nothing “to hide or be afraid of.” The Hindenburg-Adani row became a political controversy, with Congress and other opposition parties making allegations of favouritism and crony capitalism against the BJP’s government. The opposition parties have targeted the Prime Minister on the Adani issue over LIC’s investment and the exposure of public sector banks to the Adani group. The Centre has replied to the opposition’s allegations affirming that the PSUs and regulatory bodies have followed the prescribed norms and acted in accordance with their mandate.
The Centre informed the Supreme Court that India’s securities regulator, SEBI, has agreed to constitute a committee to investigate Hindenburg’s allegations against the Adani group to protect the investors. The Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta has informed the Supreme Court’s bench headed by the CJI, DY Chandrachud, that the SEBI is equipped to deal with the situation that took place after the Hindenburg’s report.
In his recent speech in Lok Sabha dedicated to the Hindenburg-Adani row, Rahul Gandhi has levelled allegations of ‘crony capitalism’ against the BJP government. The Union Minister, Shri Amit Shah, reacted to Rahul Gandhi’s allegations stating, “There is no question. Nobody has been able to level such allegation against the BJP till date. During their (Congress) era, agencies be it CAG or CBI, they had registered cases taking cognizance of corruption. There were scams of Rs 12 lakh crore.”
Amit Shah also asked Congress, and other opposition parties, levelling allegations against the BJP, to go to courts stating that the courts are not under the BJP’s influence. Shah said, “Thousands of conspiracies cannot harm the truth. Truth shines bright like the sun. They have been doing it since 2002 against PM Narendra Modi. And every time, he has emerged stronger, truthfully and by gaining more popularity among people every time,” when asked if there’s a conspiracy against the BJP in the wake of the Hindenburg report and the BBC’s documentary.
