"UP that produced country-made guns now manufactures Brahmos missiles, cannonballs": Amit Shah

Ballia (Uttar Pradesh), May 29: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday lauded the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh, and said that the state that used to earlier produce country-made firearms now manufactures defence weaponry such as Brahmos missiles and cannonballs.

"Ek zamane mai ye UP mein desi katte bante the, aaj UP mai Brahmos missiles aur tope ke gole ban rahe hai," said Shah.

Addressing a public rally in the Ballia district on Wednesday, Amit Shah said, "After the public formed the BJP government in 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed Yogi Adityanath as the Chief Minister of the state, who worked to discipline the mafias in the state by hanging them upside down.

"CM Yogi ji ne mafiao ko ulta latkakar seeda karne ka kaam kia," said Shah, adding that now no one in the entire state dares to commit land grabbing and take over the lands of the poor.

Amit Shah said, "BJP had made Purvanchal mafia-free, adding that there was a time when country-made guns used to be produced in the state, but now defence weapons such as Brahmos missiles and cannonballs are manufactured here."

He added, "If a war breaks out, cannonballs manufactured in UP will be useful to bring down Pakistan."

He further said that there was a time before the CM Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh when the vehicle theft industry used to operate in the state, now the same state under the BJP's governance operates vehicle manufacturing industries.

"Instead of guns, defence corridors are being built in the state and BJP has done the work of building cow shelters instead of butcher shops," said Shah.

He further said, "There was a huge demand for a medical college here in the state. Our Virendra Mast ji has got the permit for a 100-bed hospital and medical college in Sonbarsa which will be built in a year."

Taking a dig at the Samajwadi party, Amit Shah said, "There was a problem of electricity during the rule of SP. The electricity used to be there completely during Ramzan, but not during Janmashtami. After the BJP came to power, CM Yogi brought electricity to the state."

He also raised guns at the Congress and said, "Anti-Pichda party, Congress has done the work of giving backward class reservations to Muslims without any constitutional provision. They gave 4 and 5 per cent reservations to Muslims in Karnataka and Hyderabad. They gave reservations based on religion, which is against the law."

Reiterating BJP's promise, Amit Shah said, "As long as BJP has even one MP, we will not let the reservation for backward classes be touched."

Amit Shah also appealed to the public to vote and support the BJP candidate from the Ballia constituency, Neeraj Shekhar.

"I have come to tell the people of Ballia something, we Gujarati are very firm about our accounts. It is said that if doing one thing can accomplish 3 things, then that thing should be done immediately. If you vote for Neeraj Shekhar, then 3 things will be achieved," he said.

"The three things that will be achieved is that Neeraj Shekhar will become an MP, Modiji will hold office for the third consecutive term and there will also be a work of paying tribute to Chandrashekhar ji," he stated.

Taking a jibe at the Congress, Amit Shah said, "The Congress party tries to scare us, they say Pakistan has atom bomb, don't talk about Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

"I have come to tell you, Rahul Baba, we are from BJP, we are not scared of atom bombs, PoK belongs to India, belonged to India and we will take it," he said.

"PM Modi not hoisted the tricolor in Kashmir, he also worked towards ending terrorism from this country," said Amit Shah.

Neeraj Shekhar, the son of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, was a Lok Sabha MP from 2007 to 2014, representing SP from Ballia, the constituency earlier held by his father. In 2014, Shekhar lost the polls to his BJP rival and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha.

He was not fielded by the SP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections after that, he quit the SP and joined the BJP which sent him to the Upper House of Parliament.

The Samajwadi Party has fielded Sanatan Pandey from the Ballia seat.

Ballia Lok Sabha constituency will go to polls on June 1.

In the 2019 general elections, the BJP emerged triumphant, securing 62 out of 80 seats, supplemented by two seats clinched by its ally Apna Dal (S).

Mayawati's BSP managed to secure 10 seats, while Akhilesh Yadav's SP garnered five. Conversely, the Congress party secured only one seat.