BJP removed Article 370, Congress could not do it for 70 years: Amit Shah

Bengaluru, April 2: Coming down heavily on the Congress, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that Article 370 was removed by BJP while the Congress could not do it for 70 years.

Union Home Minister also said that the INDIA bloc has been formed to protect the corrupt while wondering why those involved in Rs 12 lakh crore graft -- hinting towards scams that surfaced during the Congress-led UPA regime, should not be sent to prison.

Addressing a convention of 'Shakti Kendra Pramukhs' at the Palace Grounds here, HM Shah lashed out at the INDIA bloc for questioning the Constitution and democracy.

"The Congress has criticised us for not changing the manifesto for decades. The BJP has fulfilled all promises made in the earlier manifesto. Article 370 was removed while the Congress could not do it for 70 years. For 500 years, Lord Ram did not have an abode. A magnificent Ram Temple has been built. When the country was witnessing a historic moment in Ayodhya, Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, and Rahul Gandhi did not attend the event. It was done for the sake of politics. They feared their vote bank would be affected."

"What has happened to them? The INDIA bloc is formed to protect the corrupt. In 2014, we declared that those involved in corruption to the tune of Rs 12 lakh crore during the previous regime would be sent to jail. Should they be sent to prison or not?"

"Mr. Rahul Gandhi, are you questioning us? Rs 3.5 crore cash has been seized from the residence of your MP. You should be ashamed of this. Authorities have seized Rs 51 crore cash from a minister of Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal Cabinet. If not prison, should these persons be sent to a palace?" he questioned.

"You (referring to the Opposition) should think about where Rs 3.5 crore and Rs 51 crore came from," HM Shah said.

The senior BJP leader said that in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, on one side, there is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, and on the other, INDIA bloc is representing a group of people and families mired in corruption.

Meanwhile as per reports, while listing out various scams under UPA rule such as “Coal Block, Commonwealth, 2G, INX Media, Aircel, Land-for-Job, Jammu Kashmir Cricket Association”, among others, Shah said the Congress, which was allegedly involved in scams of about Rs 12 lakh crore is competing with Modi.