Serampore: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday referred to protests in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and said “PoK is part of India and we will take it”.
Addressing a rally in West Bengal’s Serampore, Shah said while peace has returned to once trouble-torn Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir “now echoes with slogans of Azadi and protests”.
“After the abrogation of Article 370 by the government in 2019, peace has returned to Kashmir. But now we are witnessing protests in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Earlier, slogans of Azadi were heard here, now the same slogans are heard in PoK. Earlier stones were pelted here, now stones are pelted in PoK,” he said.
Hitting out at Congress leaders for not supporting the demand of taking over PoK, Shah said, “Congress leaders like Mani Shankar Aiyar say it should not be done as they have an atom bomb. But let me say this, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is part of India and we will take it.”
He further said, “Rahul Gandhi might oppose it. Mamata Banerjee might oppose it. But the reality is that PoK will be a part of India.”
The BJP leader said the ongoing parliamentary elections are about choosing between “leaders of dynastic politics or honest leader Narendra Modi” who comes from a humble background.
“Sharad Pawar wants his daughter to be the chief minister. Mamata Banerjee wants her nephew to succeed her as the chief minister. Stalin (Tamil Nadu Chief Minister) wants to see his son succeed him. Sonia Gandhi wants Rahul Baba to become the Prime Minister. On the other side, there is an honest and dedicated leader born in the family of a tea-seller,” he said.
“It’s a fight between the ‘Chinese guarantee’ of the INDI Alliance and the concrete promises of Modi Ji. It’s a fight between infiltration and the guarantee of citizenship under the CAA. It’s a fight between ‘Vote for Vikas’ and ‘Vote for Jihad’! The choice is yours,” he said.
He added, “On one hand, we have Rahul Gandhi, who makes frequent trips to foreign countries like Bangkok, and on the other hand, Modi for the last 23 years have been spending his Diwali with Army jawans.”
Dubbing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as “Hirak Rani” in an apparent reference to the film ‘Hirak Rajar Deshe’ by Oscar-winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray, Shah said, “Ray was a great artist and filmmaker. He made the movie Hirak Rajar Deshe. It was quite a famous movie.”
“But when Mamata ji came to power, Satyajit Ray was not there, otherwise, he would have made a movie named ‘Hirak Rani’, instead of ‘Hirak Rajar Deshe’. Mamata Banerjee is the Hirak Rani,” he said.
“Bengal is the land which gave us ‘Vande Mataram’ and national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and played a key role in India’s freedom struggle. Both the communists and the TMC tried to end nationalism and patriotism in Bengal,” he said.
Hitting out at the TMC over various scams, Shah said, “No one will be spared even if Mamata Banerjee tries to protect them.”
Shah slammed Banerjee for opposing the CAA and “taking out rallies in support of infiltrators” to appease her vote bank.
“Mamata Banerjee is spreading lies and canards about CAA. Why is she against refugees obtaining citizenship? She is supporting infiltration in Bengal but opposes Hindu refugees getting citizenship. She is taking of supporting infiltrators and mullahs,” he said.
The Centre in March implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, notifying the rules four years after the law was passed by Parliament to fast-track citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.
Referring to politics of appeasement by the TMC in Bengal, Shah said invitations for the consecration ceremony were sent to both Mamata Didi and her nephew (Abhishek Banerjee), but they chose not to attend it, “as they are afraid that infiltrators, who are TMC’s vote bank, might get offended.”
Hitting out at TMC candidate and sitting MP from Serampore Kalyan Banerjee for mimicking vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar, Shah said Mamata Banerjee and TMC leaders are known for flouting the Constitution.
A political row unfolded last year after Kalyan Banerjee mimicked Dhankhar during the opposition’s protest on Parliament stairs, condemning the suspension of opposition MPs.
Criticising the TMC’s resistance to central projects in Bengal, Shah said during the Congress-led UPA regime Bengal received around Rs 2 lakh-crore in a period spanning 10 years from 2004-2014.
“On the other hand, the Modi government in the last 10 years have provided a whopping Rs 9.25 lakh-crore. But this money did not benefit the common people as this fund was siphoned by TMC goons,” he said.
Reacting to Shah’s remarks, the TMC said the allegations of corruption are baseless.
“The BJP has lost this Lok Sabha polls and is now spreading canards against us. The people of this country have decided to give a befitting reply to the misrule of the BJP in this election,” TMC leader Santanu Sen said.
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