Patna, Sep 18 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Thursday, launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his recently concluded Voter Adhikar Yatra and termed it as an infiltrator saving campaign.

“Rahul Gandhi did not come to Bihar on a Voter Adhikar Yatra but on a ‘Save the Infiltrators Yatra’. His tour was not about education, jobs, electricity, or roads for Bihar, but about protecting infiltrators from Bangladesh. It was nothing less than an Infiltrator Rescue Tour,” Union Minister Shah said while addressing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers at Dehri in Bihar’s Rohtas district.

The Union Minister asked BJP workers to take this message to the people.

“Should infiltrators get the right to vote? Should they get free ration, jobs, housing, and Ayushman Bharat medical treatment worth Rs 5 lakh while our country’s youth are left behind?” he asked.

Accusing the Opposition of misleading people, Union Minister Shah said, “Rahul Gandhi and company are giving jobs to vote-bank infiltrators instead of our youth. If their (Opposition-led) government is formed by mistake, infiltrators will spread everywhere in Bihar.”

He added that the BJP would never allow the SC/ST/OBC reservation system to be dismantled, saying, “As long as even one BJP MP is in Parliament, reservations will remain protected.”

He also praised the Prime Minister’s dedication, noting that Narendra Modi has served as the Chief Minister and Prime Minister for 24 years without taking a single day’s leave.

In an indirect swipe at Rahul Gandhi, he added, “Some leaders cannot sleep if they don’t go abroad every six months. But PM Modi always put the country first, then the party, then the party workers — never his family.”

Union Minister Shah also responded to Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who had recently questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s work.

“Lalu Prasad Yadav asked what PM Modi has done so far. I want to remind him — between 2004 and 2014, when he was a Union Minister, Bihar received Rs 2.8 lakh crore from the Centre. But from 2014 to 2024, under PM Modi, Bihar has received Rs 9.85 lakh crore,” he said.

Admitting that the BJP had underperformed in the Magadh and Shahabad regions in the 2020 Assembly election, Union Minister Shah urged his party workers to ensure a strong poll performance this time.

“We must ensure NDA’s victory in more than 80 per cent of seats here. All workers should pledge that 80 per cent of these seats go to the BJP,” he said.

Union Minister Shah addressed BJP workers from Bihar’s Shahabad and Magadh regions in Dehri, where he hailed the achievements of the Narendra Modi government.

“Could you have imagined that a Ram temple would be built in Ayodhya in 11 years? But PM Modi laid the foundation stone and consecrated it with the chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’. He abolished Article 370, ended triple talaq, introduced the CAA, carried out surgical strikes, air strikes, and Operation Sindoor to destroy terrorists inside Pakistan. He even sent a spacecraft to the Moon’s South Pole and named it ‘Shiv Shakti Point’,” he said.

The Union Home Minister highlighted India’s rise on the global stage, claiming that the Indian economy has grown from 11th to fourth position under PM Modi’s leadership.

He also announced that a Sita Mata temple worth Rs 800 crore is being built in Sitamarhi.

“By reducing GST rates, the burden on the kitchens of mothers and sisters has been reduced by 20 per cent. Bihar’s poor have benefited the most, with 81 crore people across India receiving free ration,” he added.

Listing the NDA government’s welfare measures, Union Minister Shah said, “As many as 56 crore bank accounts were opened for the poor, 42 crore beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat, 15 crore households provided tap water, 12 crore homes built toilets, 10 crore homes given gas connections, four crore families given housing, and 1.5 crore citizens became millionaires through entrepreneurship and support schemes.”

He predicted a massive victory for the NDA in the upcoming Assembly polls in Bihar, saying, “This time our majority will be such that the Opposition will be completely marginalised. Tejashwi Yadav will not even dare to contest the next Assembly election.”

Directly targeting RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Union Minister Shah said, “A government of ransom, kidnapping, and murder can never bring prosperity. Bihar needs a government under Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar. Only this double-engine government can ensure development.”

The programme was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, State BJP President Dilip Jaiswal, Ministers Santosh Singh and Prem Kumar, party in-charge Bhikubhai Dalsaniya, former MP Gopal Narayan Singh, and MLC Nivedita Singh, among others.

–IANS

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