Who will run 'mahagatbandhan' vehicle, asks Rajnath Singh

Hitting out at the proposed grand alliance of anti-BJP parties across states, Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Sunday asked who will "run the vehicle of mahagatbandhan."

He also said a decisive leadership to take strong decisions is essential to run a government.

"I am seeing that Trinammol leader Mamata didi (Mamata Banerjee) is concentrating less on West Bengal and trying to form a 'mahagatbandhan' (grand alliance). If the government is formed by a grand alliance, who will run the vehicle of mahagatbandhan? They will have to first decide who will hold the steering and who will press the brakes," he said while addressing a rally here.

To run a government, it is "essential to have a decisive leadership which should have the power to take strong decisions," he said.

The Narendra Modi-led Central government is "committed to curb corruption" in the country and has undertaken several schemes to check cases of graft and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) is one of them, Singh said, adding that the Centre saved over Rs 1 lakh crore through the introduction of DBT.

Speaking on the alleged money laundering in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, Singh said, "Corruption was detected in the deal. People had earlier raised doubts that how the accused persons who were abroad would be extradited. We were successful in bringing back Christian Michel along with two persons and have arrested them. No corrupt person would be spared."

Michel, a Dubai-based Englishman and the alleged middleman in the VVIP chopper scam, and co-accused Rajiv Saxena along with corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar were recently extradited from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

With the surgical strike across the Line of Control in 2016, India has shown that it can take bold steps in tackling terrorism while Maoist activities too have been reduced sharply in the last four-and-a-half years, Singh said, adding that India was no longer a weak country.

"People used to tell us earlier that you are wasting time in West Bengal. But now they are saying BJP can win more than 20-25 Lok Sabha seats from Bengal," he said.

Addressing the rally here in Hooghly district, Singh appealed to the leaders, activists and supporters of the BJP to fight against the ruling Trinamool Congress in the state, assuring that the central leadership is with them.

"Do not let the BJP's head down," Singh said.

He also said the Centre has decided to seal West Bengal and Assam's borders with Bangladesh by putting in place a comprehensive integrated border management system.

"This will prevent smuggling of cows, drugs and stop the entry of fake notes and infiltrators," he said.

Citing the recent budgetary announcements, Singh said that farmers would benefit immensely from the direct income support of Rs 6,000.

--IANS

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