Congress has become a burden, taking down allies: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Dhamtari (Chhattisgarh): Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday targeted Congress, saying the grand old party has become a “burden” and its allies are sinking due to it.

Addressing a farmers’ convention in Chhattisgarh’s Dhamtari district, where he disbursed the 21st instalment under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, Chouhan asserted that the Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi won't tolerate Naxalism and terrorism.

The culprits of the recent Delhi blast would also be brought to justice regardless of where they hide, he said.

“Today, the Congress has become a burden. In the Bihar assembly elections, it joined hands with the RJD, and look at the results. Congress has become such a burden that whichever party it joins, that party sinks. Wherever Rahul Gandhi goes, it is a disaster,” he said.

In the recently concluded Bihar polls, the BJP-led NDA decimated the Mahagathbandhan, an alliance of Congress, RJD and other parties, winning over 200 seats in the 243-member House. The Congress won only six seats.

“What issues does he (Gandhi) raise? He doesn't raise the issues of the people. Rahul Gandhi raised the issues of SIR (Special Intensive Revision) and the voter list. He insulted 'mother', and Bihar slapped him so hard that now he can’t even breathe and he can’t even get up,” he said.

Targeting the INDIA bloc, he claimed that the opposition alliance is facing internal conflicts and alleged that its constituents are “fragmented and weakening”. He further accused the Congress of enabling “infiltration” in the country for electoral gains.

“Was SIR an issue? Tell me, should the voter list be made correctly or not? If the names of ‘ghuspathiye' (infiltrators) are included in the voter list, should those names be deleted or not? They came from Bangladesh. Is this a country or a dharamshala, where anyone can come and settle whenever they want? To build its vote bank, the Congress committed the sin of allowing millions of “infiltrators” to enter the country, he said.

The BJP government has been saying that the state and central governments will together remove infiltrators in Chhattisgarh or anywhere else in the country. There’s no place for infiltrators here, the Union minister said.

“Congress says ‘let them enter, let them stay; get your names on the voter list, and use our resources’. Congress has committed a sin, the consequences of which it will have to face. Congress will be nowhere,” he said.

Referring to the anti-Maoist operations, Chouhan said the people of Chhattisgarh had long suffered due to Naxal violence and added that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the government has vowed to end the menace.

“Now the last nail has been put into the coffin of Naxalism. Rivers of blood will no longer flow in Chhattisgarh. There will be no firing; no area will remain untouched by development,” he said. On Tuesday, security forces killed the most wanted Naxalite commander Madvi Hidma and described the success as the "last nail in the coffin" of insurgency.

The BJP government’s resolve is that terrorism and Naxalism will not be tolerated, he said.

“It is our resolve that only peace, progress and development will rule the country. Those who dared to carry out the Delhi blast should go to any corner of the world, even if they go underground, they will not be spared, a complete account will be taken of them, he said.

Highlighting welfare and development works, he said the Centre under PM Modi and the state under Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai are focusing on progress in rural areas, agriculture, and infrastructure.

Ensuring food security, providing farmers with fair prices for their produce and access to nutritious food are three priorities of the government for farmers, he said.

Chouhan said that 80 crore citizens are receiving free ration, something the government had not done. During the event, he also handed over a letter of allocation to CM Sai to build 2,426 km of roads connecting 780 villages at Rs 2,225 crore in the state.