In his first campaign rally for the BJP in UP ahead of the first phase of LS elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Wednesday urged people to “wipe out Samajwadi Party” (Sapa ke supra saaf) from 14 LS seats in west UP. Addressing a rally in Shahpur in Muzaffarnagar, which was attended by RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary—a former ally of SP—Shah spoke about the alleged claims of an exodus of Hindus from Kairana following the 2013 riots in Muzaffarnagar and said after BJP came to power in state in 2017, “criminals and mafia elements” are leaving the state instead of “innocent people”. He claimed in 2014, when he was in-charge of the BJP in UP, there was a migration of people from Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, and Saharanpur. “Before you voted the BJP to power in UP in 2017, was there not the migration of people out of fear from the two districts?. The scenario changed after Yogi Adityanath became the CM. Now, instead of innocent citizens, criminals and mafia elements have started migrating from UP,” Shah said. Crediting PM Narendra Modi for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Shah accused the SP and its ally Congress of not being in favour of the construction of the temple. “The Congress kept the issue of Ram Janmabhoomi stuck for 70 years, but Modi ji won the case, performed bhoomi pujan and also the consecration of Ram Lalla," Shah said. Targeting the INDIA bloc, Shah said: “Those part of the arrogant alliance are the ones involved in scams and corruption worth Rs 12 lakh crore. they (INDIA bloc) held a rally where they talked about giving protection to the corrupt. Today, I am telling the people of UP that in 2014, Modiji said those who have committed corruption will go to jail and in 2024 also he is saying the same thing. The aim of the Opposition is to make people from their family CMs and PMs. The aim of Modiji is to make the poor, farmers, helpless, Dalits and tribals strong.” उत्तर प्रदेश के मुजफ्फरनगर में विशाल जनसभा को संबोधित कर रहा हूँ। — Amit Shah (Modi Ka Parivar) (@AmitShah) April 3, 2024 Shah, who began his speech by mentioning late Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, said that he chose to campaign from west UP – the sugarcane belt — as “like Chaudhary saheb, Modiji always thinks about the uplift of farmers”. At the rally, Chaudhary defended his decision to break away from the SP and join hands with the BJP just before the Lok Sabha polls, calling it a “strategic move”. Using a Hindi phrase used in wrestling to defeat the opponent, Jayant said: “Mein palta nahi hoon. Ishe patakhni marna kehta hai (I have not made a U-turn. It’s called pinning the opponent to the ground).” Saying he has faith in the BJP in ensuring the welfare of farmers since the government honoured his grandfather Chaudhary Charan Singh with Bharat Ratna, the RLD chief accused the INDIA bloc of “fooling people by using Charan Singh’s name for getting votes”. The 14 seats of west UP will vote in the first two phases of Lok Sabha elections on April 19 and April 26. With PTI Inputs
