Hyderabad: Union Home Minister and BJP's top leader Amit Shah on Saturday asserted Prime Minister Narendra Modi will continue to lead the country post 2024 Lok Sabha polls and hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for claiming that the Prime Minister was seeking votes for making Shah his successor, citing the 75 years age rule.
“I would like to tell Arvind Kejriwal and company and the whole I.N.D.I.A. bloc that when Modi becomes 75, there is no need for you to feel happy. It is not written anywhere in BJP's constitution. Modi will complete the term and will continue to lead the country. There is no confusion in BJP on this," Amit Shah told reporters in Hyderabad.
Shah was responding to Kejriwal's claim that Modi was asking for votes for the Union Home Minister to make him Prime Minister as Modi would turn 75 next year.
The Union Home Minister also said that Kejriwal is out of jail only for election campaigning and he will be back in jail on June 2.
“Till now three phases of the election are over. I want to let all of you know that in the last three phases, the NDA has reached close to the 200-seat mark. The fourth phase is going to be even better for the NDA. Of these four phases, we will have the biggest success in the fourth one and certainly head towards crossing the 400-seat mark,” he said.
He also exuded confidence that BJP will emerge as the single largest party in south India.
“On the day of results - June 4, in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, BJP will emerge as the single largest party. In these states, BJP will get the greatest number of seats. In Telangana, we will win more than 10 seats. The economy of India has been handled expertly by Modi. We are fortunate to have a leader like Modi. On the other hand, Rahul Yaan has been launched unsuccessfully 20 times and an attempt is being made to launch him for the 21st time,” Shah said.
He also said that the Congress and its allies were involved in Rs12 lakh crore scams and on the other hand, there is Modi who has an unblemished career of 23 years as Chief Minister and the Prime Minister.
He said, on one hand, some leaders enjoy the power to the fullest and go on foreign vacations at the slightest increase in the temperature in India.
“You all can understand who I am referring to. On the other hand, Narendra Modi has not taken leave for 23 years and spends even Diwali with the soldiers deployed on the border,” he said.
Shah added that Modi has a track record of 10 years and an agenda for the next 25 years and has advanced the nation in every sector.
In the arena welfare of the poor, Modi has accomplished tasks in the last ten years that can be compared to what was done in the 70 years before that.
“In the last 10 years, the security of the nation has been ascertained, and internal safety and security have been fortified. Terrorism and Naxalism have been curbed. The nation's economy has jumped several notches to become the 5th largest economy from the 11th rank. Digital India and start-ups have become the talk of the world and the financial conditions of the banks that were in dire condition when Manmohan Singh left the PMO have improved,” he added.
Shah further said that for the sake of appeasement, Congress leaders have gone to such an extent that Mani Shankar Aiyar and their ally Farooq Abdullah are talking about putting the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) at stake just because Pakistan has atom bombs.
“I condemn it. The BJP believes that PoK is an integral part of India, and we will not let the PoK go,” he said.