Amit Shah attacks Oppn in Parliament
over seven decades of its rule. He said the Modi government had implemented its promises such as opening bank accounts for the poor, building toilets, and providing electricity to 16,000 villages.
“The Modi government has kept its promise of working for the poor and deprived, farmers, youth, tribals, Dalits and women,” he said. “We don’t announce policies to appease people, we announce schemes that are good for the people.”
Shah said 31 crore zero-balance bank accounts have been opened to ensure that money intended for the poor reaches them through the direct benefit transfers scheme.
He compared Modi’s appeal to the rich to give up their subsidised LPG gas connection to former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s call to forego a meal during the 1965 war with Pakistan.
Shah said the government has not only promised houses for all in rural areas, but is also sanctioning gas connections through the Ujjwala scheme that has changed the lives of women. Modi has ended the ills of dynastic rule, casteism and discrimination, said Shah. Modi was present in the House.
Shah, who was elected to the upper house last year, also criticised the Congress for calling the goods and services tax (GST) “Gabbar Singh Tax” and said it is unfortunate that the opposition party was inciting people not to pay tax and trivialising it. dicts had been politically influenced. The ruling has led to protests by opposition supporters urging the government to obey the order. Clashes erupted between police and the political opponents on Thursday and Friday. Soldiers surrounded the parliament building over the weekend to stop lawmakers from entering.
The United Nations and several foreign governments, including the United States, have urged the Maldives to respect the court order.
Nasheed has been living in exile in Britain since 2016 after being given asylum when he traveled there on medical leave from prison.
In addition to ordering the release of the political prisoners, the court also reinstated 12 lawmakers who had been ousted for switching allegiance to the opposition. When those lawmakers return, Yameen’s Progressive Party of the Maldives will lose its majority in the 85-member parliament, which could result in the legislative body functioning as a rival power to the president.
Known for its luxury tourist resorts, the Maldives became a multiparty democracy 10 years ago after decades of autocratic rule by the current president’s half brother, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
But the nation lost much of its democratic gains after Yameen, who has maintained a tight grip on power, was elected in 2013. He had been set to run for re-election this year virtually unopposed, with all of his opponents either jailed or exiled.
On Friday, Nasheed said he would mount a fresh challenge for the presidency this year.
Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison after he was convicted under the Maldives’ antiterror laws. The trial was widely condemned by international rights groups.