Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

BJP will form govt with full majority: Shah

- HT Correspond­ent htraj@hindustant­imes.com

BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday said the party will form government in Rajasthan with full majority as 1.7 crore beneficiar­ies of the state and central government schemes in the state will prove to be a game changer.

“During the campaign in rural areas by the party MLAs, MPs and office-bearers we have got enthusiast­ic support and response from the 1.7 crore beneficiar­ies of state and central government schemes and that has changed the election arithmetic,” said Shah at a press conference organised on the last day of campaignin­g in Jaipur. He said the BJP will form government in the state with full majority.

Shah said BJP was fighting the assembly elections on developmen­t issues, while Congress is harping on traditiona­l issues of casteism, dynastic politics and politics of appeasemen­t. “We have tried to fight on the issues of developmen­t of Rajasthan, future of Rajasthan and welfare of the poor and I think people have accepted our issues and have rejected Congress’ issues,” he said.

He said during the UPA government the 13th Finance Commission had given ₹1.09 lakh crore to Rajasthan, which was more than doubled under the BJP government.

The 14th Finance Commission gave ₹2.63 lakh crore to the state and the centre had given an additional ₹36,000 crore under different schemes to the state, besides ₹40,000 crore investment in the Barmer refinery, he added.

He said under Modi, developmen­t has speeded up in the country and the economy is growing at a fast pace, national security is assured and corruption is being eradicated.

“We have successful­ly brought Rajasthan from a ‘Bimaru’ state to a developed state. Now, our target is to make it a prosperous state and for that we need the blessings of the people of Rajasthan,” he added.

On the Congress allegation that Christian Michel’s extraditio­n was done to divert attention from the other issues, Shah said the opposition had no issues. “Should a middleman not be caught? Does the opposition want to save him?” he asked.

When asked about the Congress charge that facts were being twisted on slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ and ‘Pakistan zindabad’ during Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu’s rally, Shah said Congress should answer on the video of their Bikaner candidate who stopped a supporter from saying Bharat Mata ki jai and told him to say Sonia Gandhi ki jai. “Congress should reply to that,” he said.

On the Congress’ allegation that the Bulandshah­ar incident was an attempt to change the environmen­t in the country, Shah said it was an unfortunat­e incident. He said a SIT has been formed by the chief minister and senior officials are investigat­ing the incident. He said the incident should not be politicise­d, but Congress has made allegation­s and when the SIT submits its report, the truth will come out.

Congress spokespers­on Satyendra Raghav said the Bulandshah­ar incident was the handiwork of BJP and Bajrang Dal goons. These cow vigilantes are indulging in violence regularly, he added.

Later, Shah left for Ajmer where he ended the campaign with a road show.

JAIPUR:

 ?? DEEPAK SHARMA/HT ?? BJP chief Amit Shah showers flower petals during a road show in Ajmer on Wednesday.
DEEPAK SHARMA/HT BJP chief Amit Shah showers flower petals during a road show in Ajmer on Wednesday.

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