india

Updated: Apr 04, 2019 22:30 IST

In a speech that was peppered with multiple references to Pakistan, terror camps and “strong India”, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said it was necessary for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to return to power for a “strong Bharat”.

Addressing a rally of around 10,000 people organised at Jhajhar village in Bulandshahr located amid three assembly segments — Jewar, Sikandrabad and Khurja — Singh said, “Since we acted against terror on Pakistan’s soil, America also praised Bharat (India). It was because India is now one of the strongest countries in the world.”

The BJP has fielded sitting MP and Union Minister Dr Mahesh Sharma from Gautam Budh Nagar Lok Sabha constituency.

“Pakistan’s bad days have come due to its actions. When the Central Reserve Police Force’s 42 soldiers were martyred, the Prime Minister called an immediate meeting. And then you saw how we destroyed terror camps on Pakistan’s soil. The important point is that since we believe in respecting our neighbours, we made sure Pakistan’s citizens were not hurt and also we did not attack Pakistan’s army. We only attacked terror camps,” Singh said during his 40-minute speech.

Taking a dig at the Congress over loan defaulters living in the country, he said, “During the Congress rule, economic defaulters did not flee as they were sheltered. But now Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya have fled because there is a chokkana (awakened) chowkidar ruling the country... We will drag them into court soon.”

There are more than four lakh Rajput voters in the Lok Sabha constituency and three members of the legislative assembly from Noida, Jewar and Sikandrabad are Rajputs. From Noida, Rajnath’s son Pankaj Singh is an MLA, Jewar is represented by Thakur Dhirendra Singh while Vimla Solanki is an MLA from Sikandrabad. Sources said Rajputs were not happy with Sharma, so with the help of Rajnath Singh, the BJP is trying to influence Rajput voters.

The home minister assured people that he will come back again to thank them for voting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I bow my head and welcome you all here at this rally. In 2014, when India was having Lok Sabha elections, I was the president of the BJP. Then, I had appealed to vote for Dr Mahesh Sharma and you voted for Sharma. Therefore, once again, I bow my head and seek votes for Dr Sharma here. We don’t have to explain how our government is functioning. People can debate what we did and what we did not, but nobody in the world can say that the Modi government was involved in corruption,” Singh said.

“The Congress ruled this country for the longest period and there were allegations of corruption against every government of the Congress,” he alleged.

“People cannot forget six years of the Vajpayee government. Nobody can say there was a spot of corruption. Similarly, in UP, be it Kalyan Singh regime or the time when I was CM, our government was never involved in corrupt practices unlike the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party or the Congress,” Singh claimed.

“Under Manmohan Singh’s regime, they constructed only 25 lakh houses for the poor. Under Modi, we have built 1.3 crore houses for the poor in last 4.5 years... As per the International Monetary Fund (IMF), we will be at fifth place by the next financial year. I assure you, by 2028, our Bharat will leave behind Russia, America and China in economic prosperity,” Singh vowed.