INDIA VOTES 2024: Focusing on Ram Temple, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah lead BJP charge in western Uttar Pradesh

Neeraj Mohan

Muzaffarnagar, April 3

Senior BJP leaders Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh today commenced their election campaign in western Uttar Pradesh lauding PM Narendra Modi for fulfilling the people’s longstanding demand of constructing the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Addressing a rally in Muzaffarnagar in support of party candidate Sanjeev Balyan, Home Minister Amit Shah hailed the Modi government saying the PM had honoured people’s sentiment on the Ram Temple construction.

Yogi ended ‘goonda raj’

Before 2017, corruption was rampant in Uttar Pradesh, but under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath, the BJP government stopped corruption and ended the ‘goonda raj’ (rule of criminals). Amit Shah, Union Home Minister

Misuse of Central agencies

Some Opposition leaders and CMs are in jail on corruption charge. They claim that Modi is behind all this. If anyone believes he is being unfairly targeted by the government agencies, he should move court. Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister

“Akhilesh Yadav was not in favour of the Ram Temple and the Congress also mocked and neglected the sentiments of the people on that issue,” Shah added.

He also attacked the then Samajwadi Party-led UP government. Before 2017, corruption was rampant in Uttar Pradesh, but under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath, the BJP government stopped corruption and ended the “goonda raj” (rule of criminals), he said.

Taking a dig at INDIA bloc, he said their objective was to protect the corrupt and promote dynastic politics, while the NDA aims to eradicate corruption and remove dynastic politicians, thus empowering the country’s weaker sections. Shah appealed to the crowd to ensure the NDA’s win on all 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP.

Addressing a rally for BJP candidate Atul Garg in Ghaziabad, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took a dig at the INDIA bloc saying the alliance could not face the NDA.

Rajnath, former MP from Ghaziabad, said, “When I contested the election from Ghaziabad, some people told me that this was a tough fight, but people of Ghaziabad blessed me.”

The BJP has fielded Atul Garg from Ghaziabad, replacing Union minister and two-term MP Gen VK Singh.

Rajnath said Modi facilitated the return of Indian students from conflict-hit Ukraine. It was because of Modi’s telephonic discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Joe Biden that the Russia-Ukraine war was paused for over four hours for the safe passage of 22,500 Indian students.

On Opposition parties’ allegation of Central agencies’ misuse, he said, “Some Opposition leaders and CMs are in jail on corruption charge. They claim that Modi is behind all this. If anyone believes he is being unfairly targeted by the government agencies, he should move court.”

In the Muslim dominated Ghaziabad, Rajnath said rumours were being spread that the government would send Muslims out of the country. “I want to assure the Muslim friends that we believe in Vasudeva Kutumbkam and they will not lose their citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act,” he added.