BJP National President Amit Shah (Express Photo By Amit Mehra/File) BJP National President Amit Shah (Express Photo By Amit Mehra/File)

Hailing the surgical strike, BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday said like America and Israel, India is also seen now as a nation taking strong steps to avenge the death of its soldiers, unlike the tenure of the “Sonia-Manmohan” government, when terrorists would enter the borders every day.

“Har din Aliya, Maliya, Jamaliya, jisko aana tha woh ghus jata tha. There was no one to ask,” Shah said at the Atal Booth Karyakarta Sammelan in Goa, where he appealed BJP workers to gift Modi both Lok Sabha seats from the coastal state again.

Applauding former defence minister Manohar Parrikar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the surgical strike, Shah said, “Ek hi kadam se, Bharat desh ko dekhne ka nazariya badalna pada. Ab tak sirf do desh the, jo apne jawaano ke khoon ka badla lete the, America and Israel. Yeh do deshon ki soochi main, teesra naam, mere aur apke mahan desh Bharat ka naam jodne ka kaam, yeh Bharatiya Janata Party ki sarkar ne kiya (The perception of India was changed with a single move. Till now, only two nations avenged the death of their soldiers — America and Israel. India was added to the list and this was done by the BJP government).” Praising the Goa Chief Minister’s “devotion to the party” that saw him attend the meet for a few minutes in extreme discomfort, Shah said there could not have been a better example to show the dedication of a BJP worker other than Parrikar.

Recalling Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Parrikar, Shah accused the Congress president of being the first politician to have broken all norms. “Itni occhi rajneeti, itni neechi star ki rajneeti, desh main kissi ne nahi ki. Ek bimaar aadmi ki bimaari ke saath aap jhooth bol ke khilwaad kar rahe ho (Nobody engaged in such cheap politics. You are toying around by lying about someone suffering from an ailment),” he said. “I want to tell the people of Goa. Your favourite leader (Manohar Parrikar) is fighting an illness and Congress is indulging in politicking. There is nothing more debased than this in politics.”

Calling 2019 an important election year for the BJP, Shah said the party will also win the states of Bengal and Odisha this year. “Modi has to be elected as Prime Minister… It’s important for India as much as it’s for BJP,” he said, adding that it is “ridiculous” to compete or even make comparisons. He called the grand alliance as a union without a leader and an agenda. “If they win, then on Monday, Mayawati will be PM, Tuesday will see Akhilesh, Wednesday it will be Deve Gowda, Thursday will be Chandrababu Naidu, Friday will be Stalin, Saturday will be Sharad Pawar and on Sunday, the country will go on a holiday,” he said.

Speaking on the NRC, he said, “Infiltrators are eating out country like termites. By triggering bomb blasts they are putting the lives of our countrymen at risk. And the BJP is committed to rid the country through NRC.”

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.