Amit Shah attacks Rahul Gandhi in pocket borough of Amethi

Shah stays mum on controversy surrounding son Jay Shah

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Tuesday mounted a scathing attack on Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in his pocket borough of Amethi on the issue of development in his parliamentary constituency.

Addressing a public meeting at Samrat Cycle Factory compound in Gauriganj area of Amethi, Shah rebuffed Gandhi’s broadside that the Narendra Modi government had failed on all fronts by asking what Congress had done for Amethi in the last 60 years.

“It is a sheer mockery that Rahul, whose party has ruled the country for 60 years is now soliciting Modi government’s three year report card,” he said.

However, Shah refrained from referring to the recent controversy surrounding his son Jay Shah following a report by a news website and subsequent attack of Congress on the BJP president.

“Rahul Gandhi’s optical glasses are made in Italy and as such he cannot see the development taking place in India...the biggest achievement of the current NDA government is that we have given a PM who speaks,” he noted.

He sought the support of the people in the next Lok Sabha poll. “You (people) won’t regret if you give BJP and Narendra Modi a chance. The people of Gujarat, not BJP, will offer the report card of the state’s development under the party rule. In Gujarat, every household has power and water, while all tehsils have public health centres.”

Shah also said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was working hard to bring UP at par Gujarat.

Taking a swipe at Gandhi, Shah said Rahul had never visited Amethi collector’s office even after representing the constituency multiple times, while Smriti Irani had been visiting the place even after losing the last poll.

Meanwhile, praising the Yogi government, Shah observed that the present state regime had achieved in six months what Congress could not in 60 years. “The Yogi government had delivered on its promises of crop loan waiver of farmers, pothole-free roads and houses for poor, he said.

"Modi's team in Delhi and Yogi in UP would make UP a developed state,” he added.

The BJP president claimed UP was earlier getting Rs 2.80 lakh crore from the Centre for development, while the state was now getting much higher funds at Rs 7.10 lakh crore, a hike of over Rs 4 lakh crore.

In his address, Yogi was also unsparing of Gandhi and his family on the issue of development in Amethi. In a veiled attack on Rahul’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra, the CM said he would not allow anyone to usurp the farmers’ land.