SHAH RELEASES ‘TEMPLE’ ARROW FROM HIS QUIVER

At a rally in Akola in support of the BJP’s Anup Dhotre, home minister accuses Congress of putting hurdles in the construction of Ram Temple

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured that a grand and magnificent temple dedicated to Lord Ram was built in Ayodhya. At a rally in Akola in support of BJP candidate Anup Dhotre, Shah accused the Congress of putting hurdles in the construction of the temple. The BJP used its majority in Parliament to nullify Article 370, ban triple talaq and bring a new citizenship law, the minister said, and asserted that the Modi government would never change the Constitution.

Shah said the Modi government, on returning to office after the Lok Sabha polls, will bring citizens above 70 years under the ambit of the free health insurance cover of Rs5 lakh and provide cooking gas cylinders directly to consumers. Shah slammed the INDIA alliance, saying it did not want the Ram temple to come up in Ayodhya. The BJP leader accused the opposition of setting a false narrative that the government will change Constitution.

For 70 years, the Congress “pampered” Article 370 of the Constitution, which provided special status to J&K, like an “illegitimate child”, said the minister. The government will never changed the Constitution or end the reservations for SC/STs and OBCs, Shah asserted. Hitting out at Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, the BJP leader said the former CM doesn’t see anything beyond his son.

Shah asked NCP founder and former Union minister Sharad Pawar what the “Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan government” gave to Maharashtra during its 10-year rule. The BJP-led government at the Centre gave Rs7.14 lakh crore to Maharashtra in the last 10 years, while the Congress-headed dispensation provided only Rs1.91 lakh crore to the state during its rule from 2004 to 2014, he added.

For 70 years the Congress ‘pampered’ Article 370 like an ‘illegitimate child’, the minister said