Shah hails Modi govt's "clean" record, development plank

BJP president Amit Shah today said not a single corruption charge has been levelled against the Narendra Modi government in the last three years, in contrast to the previous Congress-led UPA administration which saw "scams amounting to Rs 12 lakh crore".
Praising the NDA government for taking "bold" decisions like demonetisation of high values notes and the GST rollout, he said the BJP-led coalition's governance mantra is development of the people of the country.
"The BJP government believes in development of the people. The Modi government's 60 per cent time (term) is already over, but not a single corruption charge has been levelled against it by the Opposition," Shah said.

The BJP chief, who arrived here today on a three-day visit of Madhya Pradesh, was addressing a meeting of intellectuals here.
The newly-elected Rajya Sabha MP said the Manmohan Singh government's tenure was marred by a string of scams. "The UPA government saw scams amounting to Rs 12 lakh crore," he claimed.
He said the UPA government had "lowered" the status of the prime minister and his office, but the ruling NDA has restored the dignity of the top post.

All UPA ministers used to consider themselves "above the PM", but this has changed under the current dispensation, the BJP chief said.

"The present Prime Minister has restored the glory of the post and is taking decisions that are good for the people," he said.
Praising "bold" decisions like demonetisation and the rollout of Goods and Services Tax (GST), he said these steps are good for the people. No other government had the courage to take such hard decisions in the interest of the people.
The BJP is committed to development and the states where it has formed governments have seen fast-paced growth, Shah said and cited the examples of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh which were earlier called 'BIMARU' (laggards).
Referring to Bihar, Shah said when the BJP was in power there in alliance with the JD(U), it had seen progress but the state lagged behind when the saffron outfit was no more part of the ruling alliance.

Now, Bihar will again walk on the path of development, he said, apparently referring to the BJP becoming part of the Nitish Kumar government.
Shah lashed out at the Congress for its "family-oriented" politics and alleged that the party had failed to develop the country in the 67 years.
Praising the BJP, Shah said it was the only party in the country which has been founded on certain principles and was upholding them wherever and whenever in power.
It is the largest party in the world and is committed to development of the last man of the society, he asserted.

Shah praised the Modi government for launching welfare schemes like Jan Dhan (aimed at financial inclusion) and Ujjwala (providing LPG connections to BPL families).
Till now, more than 2.80 crore LPG connections have been released for the beneficiaries under the Ujjwala scheme, the BJP chief said.
Shah contested Congress leader Ajay Singh's claim that the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh received more funds under the UPA government than the NDA regime.
Singh, Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh assembly, has made the claim in a letter addressed to the BJP.
The NDA government has given over Rs 5 lakh crore to Madhya Pradesh for different schemes, Shah said.

In the last three years, the Modi government has launched 106 schemes for welfare of the poor and other disadvantaged sections of the society, he said.
Earlier, on his arrival here in the morning from New Delhi, the BJP president was accorded a warm welcome at the airport by the party leaders led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Shah later unveiled a statue of Deendayal Upadhyaya, a top Jan Sangh leader and the party's ideologue, near the city's Lal Ghati square.
A large number of BJP workers, many of them sporting saffron turbans, led Shah's entourage to the state party office.

Enroute to the party office, he paid floral tributes to Raja Bhoj, a medieval-era king from the Paramara dynasty, Dalit icon B R Ambedkar and Jan Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.
Soon after arrival at the party office, Shah chaired a series of meetings with the party leaders and ministers. He had lunch at the house of state minister Narottam Mishra and interacted informally with senior journalists.
The visit is part of the BJP chief's 110-day nationwide tour to strengthen and expand the party's support base ahead of the 2019 general elections.
The Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP is in power for over a decade, are due in end-2018.

Shah also released a book, "Marching with a Billion, Analysing Narendra Modi's Government At Midterm", authored by noted journalist Uday Mahurkar.