Shah Dismisses Speculation on Modi's Retirement, Criticises Opposition in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Union Home minister Amit Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would complete his third term in office, and said there was no plan to replace him once he turned 75. The BJP constitution does not have any such condition, he said.

Shah was replying to a question on whether he would take over after Modi reached the age of 75 on September 17 next year. Speaking in Delhi earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said: “He (Modi) will retire next year. He is seeking votes for making Amit Shah the Prime Minister. Will Shah fulfill Modiji's guarantee.

“I would like to tell Arvind Kejriwal and company and the whole INDI alliance, Modi becomes 75, there is no need for you to feel happy. It is not written anywhere in BJP's constitution. Modi will complete the term and will continue to lead the country. There is no confusion in BJP on this,” Shah told reporters.

Shah was addressing a press conference in Hyderabad after addressing two public meetings in Vikarabad and Wanaparti towns before the election campaign came to an end on Saturday.

Shah said the Congress had failed to successfully launch Rahul Gandhi even after 20 attempts and the 21^st attempt in the current Lok Sabha elections would also fail.

On Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s criticism that the Centre was acting as a hurdle in getting investments for Telangana state, Shah said no investor would like to come to the state looking at the way Revanth Reddy was running it. “Revanth Reddy is not restricted from meeting Prime Minister Modi. He should seek Modis’s support instead resorting to unwanted criticism against the Centre,” Shah said Replying to criticism from the Congress that the BJP would change the Indian Constitution and remove reservations on winning 400 seats, Shah said the BJP government enjoyed absolute majority for the last 10 years. The BJP used its majority to remove Article 370, construction of Lord Ram temple and banning triple talaq. The BJP was against reservations on the basis of religion, he explained. However, all backward and neglected sections come under the reservations for economically weaker sections and some backward castes among the Muslims had been getting the benefits.

On the north-south differences raised by the Congress, Shah said the Congress had already divided the country. “Except divisive politics, the Congress will not do any other welfare work,” he said. The home minister claimed that the NDA was sweeping south India and would emerge as the largest party in south India with maximum number of Lok Sabha seats this time including over 10 from Telangana state. On Revanth Reddy’s comment that the surgical strikes carried out by the Modi government had no proof, Shah said India was the third country in the world after the United States and Israel to enter enemy territory and conduct surgical strikes. The Modi government maintained zero tolerance against Pakistan or any other neighbour and would not keep quiet if they ventured on any misadventure, he said. Misrule by the BRS and the Congress landed had Telangana state in a huge debt trap, Shah said.

The state was a surplus when it was carved out in 2014. The UPA government gave ₹ 15,000 crore grant in aid to united Andhra Pradesh, but Modi government gave ₹ 60,000 crore grant in aid to Telangana alone in last 10 years. Corruption, irregularities and family rule have ruined Telangana, he said. Highlighting how the Congress had failed to fulfill the poll promises, Shah said the Congress had assured to waive ₹ 2 lakh farm loan on Sonia Gandhi's birthday on December 9. “But they did not tell Sonia Gandhi on which birthday of hers,” he quipped. On Delhi CM Kejjriwal getting bail in the liquor scam case, Shah said getting bail was not a clean chit. “The court has not exonerated him. He was given interim bail to conduct an election campaign. It is not at all clean chit for him,” he clarified. To another question on how BJP had fulfilled its poll promises for the 2019 election, Shah said the Narendra Modi government fulfilled 92 per cent of the poll promises.