BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday ridiculed the Congress’s efforts to forge a mahagatbandhan , or grand alliance, with the sole aim of defeating the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr. Shah said a grand alliance without a prime ministerial candidate, policy or direction was no match to the BJP.
Addressing the concluding session of the BJP Yuva Morcha conclave “Vijay Lakshya 2019”, Mr. Shah said the BJP was set to return to power after the 2019 election with more than 50% of the vote despite the Opposition’s efforts. The Congress would be further decimated.
“The alliance will not make any difference to our prospects,” he said.
“Rahul baba [Congress president Rahul Gandhi] is dreaming of coming to power. But the alliance partners Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and others are not keen on projecting him as the prime ministerial candidate. A section of Congress leaders themselves is of the opinion that he is not Prime Minister material,” the BJP president said, adding that while the BJP was striving for development through its “Make in India” initiative, the Opposition has intensified its pitch for “breaking India”. He recalled that the BJP government had not compromised on security-related aspects with its initiatives including surgical strikes. This was against the 10-year Congress rule, which saw numerous incursions across the borders and attacks by terror modules.
The BJP leader also cited the National Register of Citizens update exercise as the latest initiative of the Modi government reflecting the BJP’s firmness in dealing with illegal immigrants. “We will ensure that all the illegal immigrants will be deported once the BJP comes back to power,” he said.