New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on Monday slammed Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on the issue of dynastic politics, saying that the latter compromised the dignity of the nation by stating during his recent US visit that belonging to a dynasty is a must in Indian politics.
“The top constitutional posts — that of President of India, the Vice-President, Prime Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker — are held by people who have risen from humble backgrounds through their performance, merit and hard work. BJP dismisses from the core the politics of dynasty and appeasement that Rahul Gandhi and Congress espouse,” Shah said in his inaugural address at BJP National Executive Meet held in Delhi.
Shah’s comments came in view of Gandhi’s speech in Berkeley University, US, last week saying that dynasty is “how India works”. In his address to the Berkeley audience, Gandhi had admitted that he was in national politics because his great-grandfather, grandmother and father were all in politics.
Shah said instead of dynastic rule, BJP believed in politics of performance which aimed at alleviating the suffering of the people.
“Unlike Congress, BJP believes in ensuring general welfare though poverty eradication, fighting graft and terror, and ending caste and communal politics. We believe in the vision of new India envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and exhort the party rank and file to work towards achieving it in the next five years,” Shah added.
The BJP president said that Gandhi has lowered the prestige of India with his comments at Berkeley University.
“Due to various public welfare schemes of Prime Minister Modi, India’s prestige has soared in the world. At the same time, Rahul Gandhi is working to lower the dignity of India,” he said.
Shah maintained that Gandhi should clarify on multiple corruption cases that took place during Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule.
“Rather than supporting the dynastic rule, Gandhi should clarify on appeasement politics indulged in by Congress, why projects undertaken during Congress rule were not completed and why the country is still backward and poor though 70 years have passed since Independence,” he said.
Referring to Gandhi’s speech, Shah said “the longer Rahul Gandhi will be in politics the more it will favour us.”
Speaking at Berkeley, Gandhi had hit out at Modi government raising the issues of hate crimes and polarisation.
“Hatred, anger and violence and the politics of polarisation has raised its ugly head in India today. Liberal journalists are being shot, people are being lynched because they are Dalits (those belonging to lower castes), Muslims killed on suspicion of eating beef, this is new in India and damages India very badly,” Gandhi had said.
