After a Parliament session dominated by the opposition’s accusations against the Central government over the findings of the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group, Home Minister Amit Shah declared that the ruling BJP “had nothing to hide” on the issue, flatly refuting allegations of crony capitalism. Mr. Shah on Tuesday asserted that the BJP was winning Tripura with a full majority. He was speaking on the last day of campaigning for the Tripura Assembly polls, with polling slated for February 16, and into heavy campaigning for the Assembly elections in Meghalaya and Nagaland, where polling is due on February 27.
In an interview to the wire service Asia News International (ANI), Mr. Shah said his party “had nothing to hide” on the Adani issue and that it will reap the dividends of having “ended violence” in Tripura. He dismissed the role of the tribal party, the Tipra Motha, in the polls, and said former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb’s removal from the post midway through his tenure was done to “utilise” Mr. Deb better. “He is contributing both at the Centre and assisting the Manik Saha government. This is a promotion,” he said.
The Home Minister said the government had worked hard to bring peace and prosperity to the northeast. He spoke about all the peace agreements signed with erstwhile insurgent groups and the settlement of issues affecting Bru and Reang refugees. He spoke about the number of airports developed in the northeast and how Mr. Modi had visited the region 51 times during his tenure.
In the context of the Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly polls, Mr. Shah said that the BJP was committed to protecting the cultural identities of States and various communities within them. He said the nine years of the Modi government had dispelled fears of “homogenisation”, that education was being imparted in local languages, and local dialects were also being promoted.
With regard to the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group, Mr. Shah flatly refuted allegations of crony capitalism. “The Supreme Court has taken cognisance of a matter in this regard. As a member of the Cabinet, when the SC is seized of the matter, it will not be proper for me to say something. However, the BJP has nothing to hide in this matter. Nor do we have anything to fear,” he said.
He added added that there was “no question of it [crony capitalism]“. “No one can accuse the BJP of any such thing. During their [the Congress’] time, their own agencies had registered cases related to scams worth over ₹12,000 crore,” he said.
When asked if he saw the Adani controversy erupting right after the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Modi as a conspiracy, Mr. Shah said, “Conspire as much against the truth as you want, it will come out shining like the sun. These people are after Modi-ji since 2002. But every time Modi-ji has come out clean and become more popular.”
