Congress left no stone unturned to destroy Gujarat when in power: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday alleged the Congress had left no stone unturned to destroy Gujarat when it was in power and also delayed the Sardar Sarovar dam project. Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi became king Bhagirath when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, to ensure that the waters of the Narmada river reach the arid regions of Ahmedabad and Kutch districts.

Bhagirath is a legendary king, who as per mythology, brought the Ganga river to the earth from the heavens through severe penance. "Foundation stone of the Narmada project was laid by former PM Jawaharlal Nehru when I was born (in 1964). But, the previous Congress governments did nothing since then. No work was done on the project till 2002. The project finally picked up pace when Narendra Modi became the chief minister in 2002. Thanks to him, parched regions of Ahmedabad and Kutch received Narmada waters," said Shah, who is on a two-day visit to Gujarat.

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He was addressing a gathering in the Jodhpur area of Ahmedabad city after laying the foundation stone for a project of building 2,140 houses for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in the Sarkhej area of the city, which falls under his Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency. Shah said in the past villages did not get electricity after 7 PM. but today rural areas have access to 24-hour electricity. "The Congress had left no stone unturned to destroy Gujarat. But today, Gujarat is known for its model of development. Curfew hasn't been imposed in Gujarat for the last 20 years. Riots were common during the Congress rule. Today, no one even dares to engage in communal riots," said Shah.

The Assembly polls in Gujarat are due in December this year. The campaign for the elections is hotting up with the entry of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which has challenged the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been in power in the state for the last 27 years. Shah said the Indian economy was at the 11th spot when Modi became the prime minister (in 2014), but now it is the fifth largest economy in the world surpassing England thanks to the PM's leadership. The senior BJP leader inaugurated a new office building of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and launched a beautification project for two lakes in Shilaj and Sarkhej areas that fall under the Gandhinagar constituency. Earlier in the day, Shah addressed a farmers' conference at Bavla village in the Ahmedabad district. Farmers from the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency had organised the “Rin Sweekar Sammelan” (gratitude acceptance conference) to express gratitude for providing irrigation facilities in 164 villages situated near Nal Sarovar in Sanand taluka, a government release said.

"Today, I am very satisfied as an MP because 69,632 hectares of land in these 164 villages have started receiving Narmada water for irrigation. I want to thank PM Modi too because he made this possible. Now, farmers of this area can earn more by taking three yields in a year," Shah said in his address. He urged farmers from Sanand to adopt natural farming so that farmers do not have to be dependent on urea. On the first day of his visit, Shah inaugurated a flyover near Bhadaj village on the SP Ring Road on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. This six-lane flyover has been built by the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) at the cost of Rs 73 crore to ease traffic congestion on the busy Bhadaj circle of the ring road. Shah inaugurated a primary health centre in Virochannagar village in Sanand taluka, which also falls under his parliamentary constituency.

The Union home minister later laid the foundation stone for a 350-bed hospital, which can be extended to 500 beds, to be run by the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) at Sanand in the Ahmedabad district. Apart from nearly 3 lakh factory workers of Sanand and nearby industrial belt, this hospital will also cater to the residents of Sanand taluka, Shah said.