Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Our rivals won, but we didn’t lose: Shah

- HT Correspond­ent letters@hindustant­imes.com

that the average loan amount, based on these numbers, works out to under ~50,000.

The resolution also said the average speed of rural road constructi­on has gone up from 69 km per day in 2013-14 to 134 km per day in 2017-18 with the expenditur­e on road constructi­on increasing from ~32,483 in 2013-14 to ~1,16,324 in 2017-18. From the fragile five, India is the sixth largest economy in the world today, the BJP resolution said.

The resolution also said demonetisa­tion targeted the ageold problem of black money. The government took courageous decision such as the de-registrati­on of 3.26 lakh shell companies, the resolution said, adding that the number of Income Tax payers who filed return in 2013-14 doubled from 38.2 million to 68.6 million in 2017-18. Income Tax collection­s, which were only ~6.38 lakh crore in 2013-14 increased to ~10.02 lakh crore in 2017-18.

Reacting to the resolution, Congress spokespers­on Manish Tewari said, “2019 is not a battle between a ‘majboor sarkar (helpless government) and a majboot sarkar’ (strong government). It is a fight between ‘dictatorsh­ip and democracy’. It is a struggle between ‘bhashan (speech) and prashasan (administra­tion)’ and it is going to be a test between jumlas qua an impeccable track record of service, which Congress has delivered over the years.” NEW DELHI: Its rivals may have won in the recent assembly election, but the Bharatiya Janata Party has not lost, party chief Amit Shah said here on Monday, in his first public statement over the party’s recent defeat in assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisga­rh and Rajasthan.

Speaking at the BJP’S national council meeting here on Saturday, Shah said a defeat means a situation that the Congress faced in Uttar Pradesh or when it had to search for seats in states such as Bihar and West Bengal.

In the Uttar Pradesh assembly election in 2017, the BJP won 312 seats in the 403-seat assembly on its own with its allies winning 13. The Congress won seven seats. In the Lok sabha election in 2014, in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP won 71 of 80 seats on its own with its ally winning 2. The Congress won 2.

“The results (in the recent elections) were not good. Our rivals won, but we did not lose. We have not lost our ground. The workers need not lose their hope,” Shah said.

“The results should inspire us to work harder in the national election.”

He mounted an attack on the Congress, saying the “cancer” of casteism, nepotism and appeasemen­t policy was its contributi­on, which, he said “weakened the democracy and halted developmen­t”. Shah said the BJP will continue to fight these ills.

Shah said the parliament­ary elections due later this year are very important for the BJP and all workers of the party should ensure that their family and friends cast their vote by 10.30 am on polling day.

“Lok Sabha elections are very important for us. If we manage a massive victory, the BJP will rule the country from Panchayat to Parliament for a long time,” he said.

He asked his party workers to ensure that every voter is contacted in an intensive campaign. Shah asked them to go back to their respective states with a pledge to ensure BJP’S victory and make Narendra Modi prime minister for a second term.

 ?? SANCHIT KHANNA/HT ?? Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union minister for external affairs Sushma Swaraj and senior BJP leader LK Advani, during the BJP National Convention, in New Delhi on Saturday.
SANCHIT KHANNA/HT Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union minister for external affairs Sushma Swaraj and senior BJP leader LK Advani, during the BJP National Convention, in New Delhi on Saturday.

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