‘Opp. to scramble for PM’s post if it comes to power’

THE HOME minister also accused the Congress and its allies of having protected the special status to Jammu and Kashmir like an “auras putra”

Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday warned that a victory of the Opposition INDIA bloc, “even by mistake”, will lead to a scramble among top leaders of the alliance for the Prime Minister’s post.

He claimed that leaders like M.K. Stalin, Sharad Pawar, Lalu Prasad and Mamata Banerjee may agree to a year each of premiership, by turns, and “Rahul baba (Rahul Gandhi) will have to settle for whatever is left of the tenure”.

In contrast, the home minister said, “A third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead to elimination of corruption from the entire country, including Bihar, and eradication of casteism in the state”.

“Modi’s return to power is certain. But, suppose, even by mistake, if the INDIA bloc comes to power, what will happen? Who will be the Prime Minister? Will it be Stalin, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee or Rahul Gandhi? They will all settle for sharing the top post for a year each. Is it how the country can be run?” the Union home minister said.

The senior BJP leader, who addressed election rallies in Jhanjharpur and Begusarai Lok Sabha constituencies of Bihar, also charged the Opposition bloc of seeking restoration of triple talaq.

“Should we have triple talaq? INDIA bloc leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Lalu Prasad Yadav say they will protect Muslim Personal Law. They should forget their plans. The BJP government will implement the Uniform Civil Code across the country,” Mr Shah asserted.

The home minister, who is often credited with the abrogation of Article 370, also accused the Congress and its allies of having protected the special status to Jammu and Kashmir like an “auras putra” (one’s own offspring).

“Rahul Gandhi had tried to scare us by claiming that scrapping Article 370 will cause rivers of blood to flow. But, when the Modi government made the move, nobody even dared to throw a pebble,” Mr Shah noted.

—PTI Defence minister Rajnath Singh with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Brajesh Pathak, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami in Lucknow before filing his nomination on Monday.