Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday took potshots at the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra, calling it an ‘Aurangzeb fan club’ and terming Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray as the club leader.
Addressing a BJP conclave in Pune, Shah accused the Congress of spreading “misconceptions” about reservation and blamed NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar for “institutionalising” corruption in the country.
"Maha Vikas Aghadi is Aurangzeb fan club. This Aurangzeb fan club cannot ensure India's security. Uddhav Thackeray is the leader of this Aurangzeb Fan club. This Fan Club cannot make Maharashtra and India safe,” Shah said, adding that only the BJP can ensure the safety and security of all.
Sharpening his attack on Thackeray, Shah said the Sena leader had sat with people who sought pardon for 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon.
"Who is the Aurangzeb fan club? Those who serve biryani to (26/11 terror attack convict) Kasab, those who seek pardon for Yakub Memon, those who give (controversial Islamic preacher) Zakir Naik a messenger of peace award and those who support the (banned Islamist outfit) PFI. Uddhav Thackeray should be ashamed of sitting with these people," said the home minister.
Targeting the Congress, Shah said the opposition party had done nothing to uplift the poor though they had ruled the country for decades. “They said that BJP will end reservation. I want to remind you all that it was under the leadership of Modi ji that reservation was extended."
He noted that the BJP had alloted reservation to Marathas when it ruled the state under Devendra Fadnavis, but when the Sharad Pawar's government came to power, the Maratha quota disappeared.
"If there is the biggest 'sargana' of corruption in Indian politics, it is Sharad Pawar. There is no confusion in my mind about this. I am saying it openly that Pawar has institutionalised corruption in the country," he said in a blistering attack on the NCP leader.
Shah reiterated his allegation that Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was showing arrogance despite the Congress party’s consecutive losses in the elections.
"Once we win the Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand assembly polls later this year, Rahul Gandhi's arrogance will be crushed," he said.
