Amit Shah in Chhattisgarh: Vote not to elect a govt or an MLA but for PM Modi-ji

The BJP leader asks the crowd to shout Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Vande Mataram to show solidarity for the ‘martyrdom’ of Bhuneshwar Sahu, who was killed in August. His father is a BJP candidate.

Written by Jayprakash S Naidu
Raipur | Updated: October 17, 2023 02:21 AM IST

3 min read

Union Home Minister Amit Shah with former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh and State BJP President Arun Sao during a public meeting, in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. (PTI Photo)

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Speaking at his first rally after the Assembly polls were announced, Union Home Minister Amit Shah appealed to people on Monday to vote in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to get a “golden Chhattisgarh”.

“This time vote not to elect a government or an MLA but for PM Modi-ji to make a golden Chhattisgarh. Every vote should go in the name of Modi,” he said at Rajnandgaon, where three-term former chief minister Raman Singh filed his nomination again.

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Shah began his speech referring to the death of Bhuneshwar Sahu in communal violence in August in Bemetara district. Sharing the stage with Ishwar Sahu, father of Bhuneshwar, along with other BJP candidates, he said, “The Bhupesh government’s appeasement and vote-bank politics led to the lynching of Chhattisgarh’s son Bhuneshwar. The BJP has decided to ensure the culprits are brought to book, and as a symbol of it we have given a ticket to his father (Ishwar).”

Shah then asked the crowd to shout Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Vande Mataram to show solidarity for Bhuneshwar’s “martyrdom”.

Shah listed all the work the BJP government had done in its 15-year rule under Singh’s leadership and targeted Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel alleging that his government took 30 per cent commission and that the people’s money was being routed to Delhi.

“Baghel takes 30 per cent commission to run the government. Baghel has made Chhattisgarh the ATM of the Congress. The money of poor people is going to the lockers of the Congress in Delhi. They have made a corruption chain from a small revenue official up to the chief minister. I have never seen such a long list of corruption in my entire public life. The liquor scam involving Rs 2,000 crore, a coal scam involving Rs 540 crore, a PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana scam involving Rs 5,000 crore, a Gauthan Yojana scam involving Rs 1,300 crore, a PDS fraud involving Rs 600 crore, a Mahadev app fraud involving Rs 5,000 crore and even a PSC scam where jobs are being taken away for commission,” he said.

Shah then enlisted the central government schemes being implemented in Chhattisgarh and questioned Baghel on the unfulfilled promises made by his party, including a liquor ban.

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The Congress-led UPA in its 10-year rule (2004-2014) gave Chhattisgarh Rs 77,000 crore, while the BJP has since 2014 has given the state 3.01 lakh crore, he said.