On maiden trip to Odisha, Shah blasts Cong

Hitting out at Congress for raising questions on the security forces' operation in the Arabian Sea, BJP chief Amit Shah today said it was the opposition party's "duty" to boost the morale of defence personnel instead of finding faults with the NDA government's efforts to curb terror.
"I will like to ask the Congress from where (do) they fight elections? In India or Pakistan?" Shah said at BJP's 'Mahasangram' rally here on his maiden visit to Odisha.
The BJP President lauded the Coast Guard and the defence intelligence wing for saving the country from another terrorist attack via the water route.

In a mid-sea operation on New Year's night, a suspected Pakistani fishing boat carrying explosives was intercepted by the Coast Guard in the Arabian Sea but caught fire and exploded with all four crew members on board.
Saying that about 350 people were killed when Pakistani terrorists landed on the coast near Mumbai in 2009 and launched an attack on the city, Shah insisted that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre was determined to foil any attack.
"They (Pakistan) fire bullets from across the border, but the nature of India's response under the NDA government has changed. We are giving a fitting reply.

"Earlier, they (Pakistan) used to open fire first and they ended it too. But now, we end the firing," Shah said.

Expressing confidence that the Modi dispensation would provide good governance in the country for many years, he said that instead of seeking to know its performance in the last six months, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi should submit a scorecard of the 60 years of rule by his party in India.
"Rahul 'Baba' is asking for a report card on what we have done in the last six months. I ask you, first give a report card on what your family has done in 60 years when it ruled the country," said Shah.

Faulty UPA policies had pushed the nation into a situation of inflation, high prices and low growth, charged Shah, who claimed that the turnaround started after the politically -stable Modi government came to the helm at the Centre.