Vikarabad (Telangana) [India], May 11 : Claiming that the Opposition bloc--INDIA--had no prime ministerial face, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said if there was anyone who could take the country forward, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing a public meeting at Vikarabad in Congress-ruled Telangana on Saturday, the Union Home Minister said, "They (INDIA) have no consensus candidate for the prime minister...no one they can project as an alternative to PM Modi. When a reporter asked them to name their PM candidate, they said their leaders would take turns to holding the country's most powerful post. I want to ask them: who would be their leader to save us from another pandemic like Covid-19? Who would put an end to terrorism? Who will lead the country as PM Modi during the G20? They have no candidate for the office of the prime minister. PM Modi led the country from the front when we hosted world leaders and top dignitaries at the G20 summit. It was also under his leadership that we put Chandrayaan (3) on the moon (lunar south pole). He made India the 5th biggest economy in the world. So, if there's anyone who can take this country forward, it is our leader Narendra Modi."
The Union Home Minister was campaigning for Dr Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, the BJP candidate from the Chevella Lok Sabha constituency in Telangana.
Drawing a direct comparison between INDIA and the BJP, Shah said the partners in the former majorly indulged in corruption and scams when they held top public offices.
"The ongoing elections are majorly between two alliances. On one side is the NDA, which is taking the country forward under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the other is the INDI alliance under Rahul Gandhi. On one side, there is corruption worth Rs 12 lakh crore...by the Congress and its allies. On the other side is a leader who didn't have a single taint of graft on him in his 10 years as PM and 23 years as chief minister (of Gujarat). He is our leader Narendra Modi," the Union Home Minister said.
In a swipe at Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, Shah said, "On one end of the political spectrum stands Rahul Gandhi, who typically jets off to vacation in Thailand or elsewhere when the temperature rises back home. At the other end is PM Modi who hasn't taken a single off day in 23 years, not even on Diwali when he was at the border celebrating the festival of lights with our jawans."
"At one end is the appeasement politics of the INDI alliance and on the other, there is the BJP and leaders who talk about the sacrifices they have made and are making for the country. You have to choose between the two."
Voting for all 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana will take place on May 13, the fourth phase of the ongoing general elections.