A friendship that’s tied in the bonds of brotherhood and goes back three decades. It has weathered storms and unfavourable seasons but has emerged unscathed. History will have its interpretations of the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah alliance and their mastery of the election game. But it’s undeniable that their loyalty continues to galvanise the BJP machinery.
As India Today, elucidating the Power of Two, once reported: “In the run-up to the Lok Sabha election in 2014 and the five years of the BJP-led government’s first term, Shah earned Modi’s trust and loyalty by delivering electoral victories in key states. While Modi concentrated on running the government, Shah set about consolidating the party under his guidance.”
Now, Shah has revealed that the Congress-led UPA government pressured him into framing India’s Prime Minister in an alleged fake encounter case in Gujarat. According to a report, Shah said the BJP never buckled under pressure.
The Home Minister also remarked that there was much ado about Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in a criminal defamation case by a court in Surat. He failed to understand why Gandhi wasn’t moving to a higher court instead of blaming the Prime Minister.
“The sentence can be stayed if the court decides,” Shah was quoted as saying. “He has not appealed to take stay on his conviction. What kind of arrogance is this? You want a favour. You want to continue to be MP and will also not go before the Court. Where does such arrogance get generated?”
He reminded that in the past leaders such as Lalu Prasad, J Jayalalitha and Raashid Alvi lost their membership because of a 2013 Supreme Court order during the UPA government, but no one protested the law of the land.
“The law of the land is clear. There is no question of vendetta politics. It is the judgment of the Supreme Court of India, which had come during their government,” he said.
On the notice to vacate Gandhi’s bungalow, Shah said there was no question of special favour. “It was a deliberate statement by Rahul Gandhi. If Rahul Gandhi did not want to apologise, then he should not have applied for bail. Let him not apologise. This gentleman is not the first one. Politicians who held much bigger positions and with much more experience have lost their membership because of this provision.”
Taking a potshot at Gandhi, he asked why India’s democracy wasn’t threatened when Lalu Prasad Yadav was disqualified. “Now it has come on him (Gandhi), so they are saying make a separate law for the Gandhi family. I want to ask the people of this country whether there should be a separate law for a single family. What kind of mentality is this? Whatever happens, they start blaming Modi ji and the Lok Sabha Speaker,” Shah said.
Expectedly, he spared no digs at Gandhi when asked about the latter’s remarks on Veer Savarkar. “Such language for such a freedom fighter should not have been used,” he said. “He (Gandhi) should read his grandmother’s speech on Veer Savarkar. His party people are advising him to not speak against Savarkar.”
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