Jajpur: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said Congress avoids talking about Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) because they are scared of Pakistan.
Addressing a poll rally in Jajpur, Odisha, Shah said, “Congress party says ‘Pakistan has atom bomb. Don’t speak about PoK.’ Naveen Babu (Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik), Rahul Baba (Congress leader Rahul Gandhi), listen to me as I say this from the land of Mahaprabhu – Pakistan Occupied Kashmir Bharat ka hai, rahega aur hum usko lekar rahenge (PoK belongs to India, we will take it back).”
Shah said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already bagged 310 Lok Sabha seats in the five phases of elections held so far and it is poised to cross the 400 seats mark as set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shah said people were turning out in great numbers to vote for the BJP as they wanted to see Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India for the third term and serve them in the right earnest.
“The huge turnout of voters at polling stations and long queues before the booths show their enthusiasm to elect Narendra Modi for the third term as the Prime Minister,” said Shah.
He took potshots at the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi saying that they lacked “courage” and “strength” to tackle Pakistan in the past and deal with the Jammu and Kashmir issue.
He took on the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government in Odisha. He alleged that it had not done anything significant in the last 25 years for the people of the state.
“This BJD government headed by Naveen Patnaik has done little for Odisha. Naveen Babu has grown old and now he is dependent on a Tamil Babu (a reference to CM Naveen Patnaik’s close aide V Karthikeyan Pandian). He must quit his position to make way for an Odia person to lead the state,” he observed.
“This is the land which had forced Emperor Ashoka to quit violence and accept peace. The people of Kalinga (Odisha) preferred death to subjugation of Emperor Ashoka. Time has come to defend yourself from the design of the Tamil Babu to save your land,” Shah said.
The Union minister pledged a university status to Bhadrak College, establishment of a textile park and a medical college in the region; and procurement of paddy from farmers at Rs 3,100 per quintal.