BJP chief Amit Shah on Tuesday challenged the SP, BSP and the Congress — his principle opponents in Uttar Pradesh — to file affidavits in court and clarify their stand, for or against, on the contentious triple talaq issue.
He claimed the three parties were tight-lipped over the issue, even as he said his party was “committed” to the welfare of women and protecting their rights. “Women’s honour and safety should be made an agenda (in the UP Assembly elections),” Mr. Shah appealed to women, while praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for speaking out against triple talaq. He also said the Centre’s submission on the issue in the Supreme Court reflected its commitment to fight for women’s rights, something the other parties had ignored.
Addressing a parivartan rally in Sonbhadra in eastern U.P., known for its rampant illegal sand mining and stone quarrying, Mr. Shah accused the SP and BSP of spoiling the local ecology through illegal mining and corruption. “On my way here, I saw big cavities and craters in the hills. I asked about them and was told that the stones from there had been taken away for constructing Mayawati’s stones,” Mr. Shah said.
Illegal miningThe BJP chief also tried to corner the Akhilesh Yadav government by referring to the allegations of illegal mining under the watch of his minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, who held the portfolio till a few weeks ago. Though Mr. Shah did not name him, his inference was obvious. “There is a close confidant of Mulayam Singh Yadav who has been given the contract to engage in illegal mining.”
If the rich minerals, sand and resources of the region were utilised properly, “every village in the Kashi (Varanasi) region” would have got its benefits in form of better infrastructure,” Mr. Shah said.
He assured that not a single case of corruption would come up against his party if it formed government in the state next year, while accusing the previous BSP government of corruption worth Rs 2 lakh crore during its tenure.
Mr. Shah also flayed CM Akhilesh Yadav for not acting against the corrupt elements of the BSP, wondering why he had not “filed a single case against Behenji’s men ?”
He also promised that if the BJP came to power in UP, within one month it would evict “SP goons” from the land grabbed from the poor.
“If Behenji comes to power, she will take care of SP goons and if the SP returns to power, it will take care of her corrupt leaders. Under the BJP, goons and corrupt elements will not be saved,” Mr. Shah said.
