BJP chief Amit Shah hits out at Rahul Gandhi for defending dynastic politics
NEW DELHI : BJP president Amit Shah on Monday hit out at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for defending dynastic politics and said the BJP believes in politics of performance, while Congress in dynasty and politics of appeasement. Rahul Gandhi has it all wrong – dynasty or family connections in launching careers is “a tradition of the Congress and not of India” Shah said.
PM Narendra Modi, who will deliver the valedictory address today evening, may use the opportunity to highlight his government’s pro-poor measures and other policy decisions. With the opposition parties attacking the government’s handling of the economy by citing the fall in GDP rate and demonetisation figures, Modi is expected to take them on and highlight his dispensation’s “successes” in boosting transparency and curbing black money, party sources said.
Rahul Gandhi has it all wrong – dynasty or family connections in launching careers is “a tradition of the Congress and not of India. Amit Shah said today, responding to the Congress Vice President’s controversial remarks at Berkeley in California last month.
Mr Gandhi, whose family is the pivotal force of the Congress, told students “this is how India works” when he was asked about dynasty politics. He also cited a list of Indians who have inherited their family’s legacy to contend that he should not be singled out for benefiting from his last name. Among those offered as evidence by Mr Gandhi: the Ambanis, Abhishek Bachchan and several politicians like MK Stalin and Akhilesh Yadav.
Mr Gandhi at the Berkeley session also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of eroding secularism and promoting intolerance. The BJP chief, who is the Prime Minister’s closest aide, responded today that while Mr Gandhi has no problem criticizing the Indian government in a foreign country, the BJP’s record speaks for itself.
“Look at the huge corruption while the Congress was in power,” Mr Shah said, referring to the many swindles in sectors ranging from coal to telecom that erupted with the collusion of government officials when the previous Congress-led government was in power. “There has not been one charge or corruption against the BJP in the last three years,” Mr Shah said. His other comments emphasized the BJP’s plans to expand its foothold in the northeast and the south.
The sources said the economic resolution is likely to mention demonetisation as a “bold decision to curb the menace of corruption” and the passage of Goods and Services Tax (GST) as another feather in the Modi government’s cap. The slowdown in economic growth, the lack of jobs, a stimulus package to kickstart the economy and the next round of Assembly polls are expected to dominate the BJP meeting today.
The government is concerned over the latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures which have shown a growth rate of 5.7 percent and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been talking about a package to revive economic growth after the November 8 demonetisation slowed it down.
An economic resolution is also likely to be passed keeping the focus on demonetisation and the rollout of GST.Modi is likely to address the concerns over the Indian economy and is all set to list his government’s achievements in the last three years.
Rail Minister Piyush Goyal, Shah also told the BJP members present at the crucial meet at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi that from October 03-17, the party workers will take out a ‘padayatra’ in Kerala and connect with the people. Goyal, said that the government is relentlessly working in the interests of the poor.
