Ambedkar Nagar/Siddharthnagar: Union Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav refused to go to Ram temple for the fear of losing their vote bank, which is all made up of 'intruders.'
He also said that the BJP has crossed the 310-mark and the Congress is not even getting 40 seats this time.
Addressing a rally in Ambedkar Nagar, where he sought votes for party candidate Ritesh Pandey, Shah said, "Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi did not attend the consecration ceremony of Ram temple because they are scared of their vote bank. You know who their vote bank is? I'll tell you. Their vote bank is those intruders. They did not go for the fear of losing them. They jeopardised the safety of the country."
The BJP leader held several rallies in Uttar Pradesh in the day, attacking mainly the Congress and the SP, which are fighting the polls this time in an alliance.
In Domariyaganj, where he gathered support for BJP candidate Jagdambika Pal, Shah said, "INDI alliance has been wiped out in the first five phases. I am telling you, this time Congress is not getting even 40 seats and Akhilesh Yadav will not even get four seats."
In another rally in Sant Kabir Nagar, Shah named several leaders from the opposition parties and accused them of nepotism.
"Lalu Prasad Yadav wants to make his son the chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray wants to make his son the chief minister, Sharad Pawar wants to make his daughter the chief minister, Stalin wants to make his son the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee wants to make her nephew the chief minister, and Sonia Gandhi wants to make her son Rahul Gandhi the prime minister," he said, adding, someone who works for his family is not going to work for a constituency.
Shah asserted that the PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) is a part of India and the BJP will take it back.
"Leaders of Pakistan say that PoK is theirs. Congress leaders also say that they (Pakistan) have an atom bomb. BJP people are not scared of atom bombs. PoK is and will remain part of India and we will take it back," he said.
He said the opposition was trying to end reservation for the SC/ST/OBC in order to appease its vote bank.
'Rahul Baba and Akhilesh Yadav, you have been blinded by vote banks politics. We will finish reservation on the basis of religion and give it back to the ST/ST and OBCs,' he said.
He also pointed out that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc did not have any prime minister face and claimed that the alliance, if it comes to power, will have five PMs. "Can the country run like this?" Shah alleged that Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav have tickets booked for a vacation abroad once results of the Lok Sabha polls are announced, unlike Narendra Modi who works tirelessly for the nation.
"On the one hand, there is Rahul Gandhi who leaves for Italy, Thailand and Bangkok and on the other hand, there is Narendra Modi, who has not taken any leave for 23 years and even spends his Diwali with soldiers on the border," he said.
Shah said the BJP ensured OROP (One Rank-One Pension) scheme for the retired army personnel and asserted that India will become the third largest economy in the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In Khalilabad of Sant Kabir Nagar, where he addressed a gathering campaigning for the party's Praveen Kumar Nishad, who is contesting on a NISHAD party ticket, a partner of NDA, Shah accused the opposition of stalling the construction of Ram Temple for over 70 years and said the temple could only be built because of Modi.
"This election is between the one who constructed Ram Temple and those who opened fire on Ram Bhakts," he said.
On the abolition of Article 370 in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, he said, "Article 370 which was protected by the Congress and Samajwadi Party was removed by Narendra Modi in 2019 and Kashmir was made a part of India forever. No one dares to explode bombs there." Shah alleged that in the erstwhile SP government 'goonda raj' was rampant in Uttar Pradesh, and it was Yogi Adityanath, the current CM, who set all goons right.
Polling in Domariyaganj, Sant Kabir Nagar, and Ambedkar Nagar will be held in the sixth phase of ongoing Lok Sabha polls on Saturday.