INDIA bloc has no PM candidate: Amit Shah

Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh), May 5: Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that the INDIA bloc has no candidate for the post of Prime Minister, adding that the country has decided to give Prime Minister Narendra Modi a third term.

Addressing an election rally at Dharmavaram in Sri Sathya Sai district along with Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu, he sought to know who was the prime ministerial candidate of the INDIA bloc.

"God forbid, if you were to come to power, who would you elect as your Prime Minister? Will Sharad Pawar be the PM? Will Mamata Banerjee become (the PM) or MK Stalin Or Udahav Thackeray? I will take another name. Please don't laugh. Can Rahul Baba become the PM?" he wondered while addressing the rally.

Stating that two phases of the Lok Sabha elections were already over, he said with a century (of votes) in these two phases, PM Modi is ahead of the Opposition.

The Home Minister said that in the third phase, he will take a step further towards the target of crossing 400 seats.

HM Amit Shah said that electing Narendra Modi as Prime Minister means making the country safe and secure, eliminating terrorism and extremists, making India the third-largest economy in the world, making 3 crore 'Lakhpati Didis', providing shelter to 4 crore homeless, giving 10 crore people free electricity with Surya Ghar Yojana and giving 11 core farmers Rs 3 lakh crore in five years.

He claimed that the BJP has entered an alliance with the TDP and the Jana Sena to end crime, goondaism, rampant corruption, land mafia from Andhra Pradesh, to make Amaravati once again the capital of the state, to reinstate the power of God Tirupati Balaji and to protect Telugu language.

HM Amit Shah alleged that the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government wants to end Telugu language to introduce English in primary education.

He also criticised both Rahul Gandhi and Jagan Mohan Reddy for not attending the Pran Pratistha ceremony of Ram Mandir and asked people if they would vote for such people.

The Union Minister appealed to the people of Andhra Pradesh to elect candidates of the National Democratic Alliance for all Lok Sabha seats and also give the alliance a two-thirds majority in the state Assembly.

Appealing to people to make N. Chandrababu Naidu the Chief Minister and Narendra Modi the Prime Minister, HM Amit Shah promised that within two years, Polavaram Project would be completed.

"The project is the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh. This project was approved by the Central government after the bifurcation of the state. However, Jagan Reddy's government has almost derailed the project due to its corruption," HM Shah said.

Praising Chandrababu Naidu, the Home Minister said when he was the chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh, he took the then undivided state to the top. "Even after the bifurcation, he laid the foundation here but Jagan Mohan Reddy derailed the development process. Development is zero, investment is flop and unemployment at its highest. Jagan Babu's government has imposed a burden of Rs 13.50 lakh crore debt on Andhra Pradesh," HM Shah said.

The Union Home Minister alleged that infrastructure projects have come to a halt while the land mafia is active with full force.

"The Jagan Reddy government has kept none of its promises. He promised a ban on alcohol. Did he? Instead, he started a whole syndicate of alcohol in the state," the former BJP president said.

He also accused Jagan Mohan Reddy of ignoring Rayalaseema.

"Cast your votes for Chandrababu Naidu and PM Modi. We will complete not only Polavaram, but Handrineeva, Sujala Sravanti, Veligonda, and all other irrigation schemes," HM Shah added.