LS elections: Rahul Gandhi will lose Rae Bareli by huge margin, says Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday took a dig at Rahul Gandhi for contesting from the Wayanad and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats, claiming that the Congress leader will lose from Rae Bareli by a huge margin.

Addressing a gathering at Bodeli town in the tribal-dominated Chhotaudepur district, Shah accused the opposition INDIA bloc of robbing the quota meant for Dalits, tribals and backward classes.

"The Congress is fighting elections under their leader Rahul Gandhi. When he lost elections from Amethi, he went to Wayanad. As he has realised that he will lose from Wayanad this time, he is also contesting from Rae Bareli instead of Amethi," he said.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Gandhi had contested from the Amethi and Wayanad seats. While he won from Wayanad, he lost the Amethi seat to Union minister Smriti Irani.

"Rahul Baba, take my advice. The problem is with you, not with the seats. You will lose from Rae Bareli also, by a huge margin. Even if you run away, people will find you," the senior BJP leader said while campaigning for Jashubhai Rathva, the BJP candidate for Chhota Udaipur (ST) Lok Sabha seat.

He said "Rahul Baba and company" were spreading a lie that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will abolish reservations if he wins another term.

"Rahul Baba, Modi had a full majority in 2014 and 2019. But, he never touched the reservation meant for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. This is Modi's guarantee that till the BJP is in power, no one can touch your reservation."

The Union minister alleged that it was the INDIA bloc that robbed the quota meant for the Dalits, tribals and backward classes.

"After forming the government in Karnataka, they (Congress) gave 4 per cent reservation to Muslims by robbing the 4 per cent quota meant for OBCs, and in Andhra Pradesh, they gave five per cent reservation to Muslims, which effectively reduced the quota meant for OBCs," Shah claimed.

If the opposition comes to power, they will snatch the quota meant for these classes and give it to Muslims, he said.

"I want to ask the opposition if they want to take back the reservation given to Muslims in those states. This is like 'ulta chor kotwal ko dante' (pot calling the kettle black). They were the ones who snatched the reservation, but they are levelling allegations against Prime Minister Modi," he said.

Shah further alleged that the Congress had tried to stall the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and opposed the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

"We had sent an invitation to Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and even Arvind Kejriwal for the consecration of the Ram temple. But no one came. Why? Because they are afraid of their vote bank. I hope you know who their vote bank is. But we are not afraid of that vote bank," he said.

The Union minister said PM Modi has eliminated terrorism from the country during his ten-year rule.

"There was a time when infiltrators from Pakistan ran away after carrying out bomb blasts in the country every day, but the previous Congress governments never took steps, fearing it would upset their vote bank. It was Modi who eliminated terrorists by entering their houses," he said.

Shah claimed that the Congress was "anti-Adivasi" since the beginning, which is why it never allowed a member of the tribal community to become the country's President for nearly 70 years.

Modi gave the country a tribal President for the first time in the form of Droupadi Murmu, he said.