New Delhi [India], November 2 : Congress leader Pawan Khera on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing the central leadership of prioritising political campaigns over severe national security crises.
The remarks come following Amit Shah's visit to Hyderabad to spearhead 'Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao' march.
Reacting to the development, Khera in a post on X questioned the government's deployment of administrative focus and criticised the decision to campaign in Telangana, addressing escalating ethnic violence in Manipur, which recently saw five Kuki men killed within a 24-hour window.
“@AmitShah will be in Hyderabad today, leading a padyatra against the Congress. Ideally, one would expect the Union Home Minister to be focused on Manipur, where five Kuki men have been killed within 24 hours. The Home Minister has a responsibility to step in,” Pawan Khera wrote.
Khera further argued that if an on-ground assessment was logistically challenging, the Union leadership should have at least convened emergency reviews in the national capital rather than diverting state machinery toward political confrontation.
Highlighting the prolonged humanitarian crisis persisting in Manipur since May 2023, Khera stated, “He could visit Manipur, even if only for the sake of formality. If he is, as usual, too scared to go there, he could at least convene an urgent high-level meeting in Delhi and take stock of the situation. But for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Manipur can wait. It has been waiting since May 2023. Congress-bashing, however, cannot.”
He further empahsied that an entire state is on edge, waiting for Home Minister’s and added, “the Home Minister's priority is a political march against the Opposition. What an abject failure of a Home Minister. ALL TITLE, NO RESPONSIBILITY.”
On Monday, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut took a swipe at the BJP over its scheduled 'Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao' march today, which will be led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Hyderabad, saying that those who "destroy democracy" are now holding rallies in its defence.
Speaking to ANI about BJP's scheduled rally, Raut said, "Let them do it. The destroyers of democracy are holding rallies to save democracy; this is the biggest irony. This kind of irony used to happen in other countries."
Raut said the INDIA bloc's 'Chalo Dilli' rally was centred on the issues of protecting democracy. He compared the gathering to the 1974 rally held in support of Jayaprakash Narayan.
Meanwhile, following Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the city to lead the state BJP's 'Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao' march, Telangana Minister Ponnam Prabhakar has challenged the central leadership over pressing socio-political and electoral concerns.
As the state BJP blankets the streets with massive welcome posters for the march spanning from Nizam College to MJ Market in Nampally, Prabhakar announced that state representatives and Backwards Classes (BC) leaders are seeking a direct audience with the Home Minister.
“During Amit Shah’s visit to Hyderabad, we demand that BJP MPs and representatives from the Backwards Classes (BC) request a meeting with him. With a national census currently underway, we demand that a specific option for the Backwards Classes be included,” Ponnam Prabhakar told ANI.
Prabhakar further demanded central accountability over deletions from electoral rolls, pointing towards allegations regarding Form 6 documents.
“We urge HM Amit Shah to address the issue of 'vote theft' specifically, the complaints regarding the distribution of Form 6 and Form 7 documents, allegedly facilitated by the RSS office and BJP leaders, which are being used to remove voters from the electoral rolls," Telangana Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said.
Meanwhile, political tensions escalated in Telangana ahead of Shah’s visit to Hyderabad, where the state BJP has erected large welcome displays for its 'Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao' march spanning from Nizam College to MJ Market in Nampally.
Shah was scheduled to visit Hyderabad on November 2 to participate in and lead the BJP's 'Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy' (Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao) foot march.
The demonstration, organised by the Telangana unit of the BJP, is slated to begin at 4:00 PM along Tank Bund in the heart of the city. The march will commence from the Swami Vivekananda statue and culminate at the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar statue.
BJP leader Guduru Narayana Reddy stated that the rally is intended to counter the ruling Congress government in Telangana and register a strong protest against its recent political agitations.
The Union Home Minister's visit is expected to galvanise the state BJP cadre as the party intensifies its political offensive against the Congress administration in Telangana.