Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should forget that "his fourth generation come," Muslims will not receive reservation meant for SCs, STs, and OBCs.
"A few days back, Ulemas met the president of Congress party and said that Muslims should be given reservation," Shah remarked during a rally for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.
If reservation has to be given to Muslims, then reservation for SCs, STs, and OBCs will have to be cut. Rahul Baba, not only you but even if your four generations were to come, they cannot cut the quota meant for SCs, STs, and OBCs and give it to Muslims," Shah added.
Speaking to the media at Jammu, he said: "Even if Indira Gandhi were to return from heaven, Article 370 won't be restored." Shah said that Article 370 was an anachronism created for the political benefit of independents who parted ways with the Congress before Independence.
Responding to Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde's statement that he had been afraid during a visit he made to Srinagar's Lal Chowk as Union home minister, an outraged Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "Shinde ji, go to Kashmir now along with your grandkids, no harm will come to you." He added: "During 10 years of the Sonia-Manmohan regime, terrorists used to come freely from Pakistan and trigger bomb blasts here.".
In Maharashtra, Shah also targeted the opposition's MVA alliance and termed it the "Aurangzeb Fan Club". He said that the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance upholds the legacy of Shivaji Maharaj and Veer Savarkar. He said, "This MVA alliance only wants to appease and Uddhav ji has forgotten the principles of Balasaheb Thackeray for the sake of power."
Shah also went on to claim that Uddhav Thackeray had allied himself with people who opposed renaming Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar, the building of the Ram Temple, abolishing triple talaq, abolishing Article 370, surgical strikes, and call Hindus terrorists.
"I have travelled all over Maharashtra and can say with confidence that Mahayuti will sweep the November 20 assembly polls," Shah declared, adding that the 'ladli behnas' (women) of Maharashtra are with the lotus flower and the BJP.
Shah also targeted Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders, terming them of opposing various communities and patronizing divisive elements. "They gave a statement against (Hindu seer) Ramgiri Maharaj. They caused riots in Sindkheda and they are promoting such people who are not good for Maharashtra and the country," he said.
Shah has also voiced his fears about the Waqf law, under which recently, the Waqf Board in Karnataka has decided to declare entire villages as Waqf property, including 400-year-old temples, farmers' land, and people's houses. "We brought a bill to amend the Waqf Act, but Rahul Baba and Pawar Sahab are opposing the bill. Rahul Gandhi, listen, PM Modi will definitely amend the Waqf Act," Shah said.
Shah signed off with some praise for India's economic progress saying, "India's economy was still in the 11th position under PM Manmohan Singh, and PM Narendra Modi took it to the fifth position within a decade." "I assure you that within 2027, India will become the third-largest economy in the world," he claimed.
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