It’s vote for progress vs ‘jihad’, says Shah in Telangana

New Delhi, May 9

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday termed the ongoing Lok Sabha elections as a fight between “vote for vikas (development)” and “vote for jihad”.

Addressing a rally at Telangana’s Bhongir, Shah said, “In the 2024 General Election, it’s (Congress leader) Rahul Gandhi versus (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi… a contest between ‘vote for jihad’ and ‘vote for vikas’. The election is also between PM Modi’s ‘Bharatiya guarantee’ against Rahul’s ‘Chinese guarantee’.”

Describing the Congress, BRS and the AIMIM as a “triangle of appeasement”, the Home Minister alleged that the parties didn’t let Ram Navami procession take place, and that they also opposed the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA). “These people don’t allow the celebration of ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’ (September 17). These people oppose the CAA. They want to run Telangana on the basis of Sharia and Quran,” he claimed.

Telangana has 17 Lok Sabha seats which will go to the polls in the fourth phase of elections on May 13. It’s a keen contest in Hyderabad as sitting AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi is pitted against BJP’s Madhavi Latha.