Shah coins ‘KASAB’ to target Cong, SP, BSP

Varanasi/Gorakhpur: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s SCAM acronym triggered a political round of wordplay, BJP’s national president Amit Shah coined a new

Varanasi/Gorakhpur: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s SCAM acronym triggered a political round of wordplay, BJP’s national president Amit Shah coined a new one – ‘KASAB’ for Congress (Kangress in Hindi), Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.

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While campaigning in Azamgarh’s Atraulia assembly constituency and Gorakhpur’s Khajni, Shah on Wednesday called on supporters to make Uttar Pradesh free from these parties.

Elaborating on the acronym, he said, “Ye Uttar Pradesh ki janata is baar ke chunav mein is Kasab se mukti paa le. Main phir se bolta hu Uttar Pradesh ki janata is baar ke chunav mein is Kasab se mukti paa le. Kasab se mera matlab kuch aur mat nikaliyega. Kasab se mera matlab hai- KA se Congress, SA se Samajwadi Party aur Ba se BSP.”

(In this election, people of UP should get rid of Kasab. I say it again, people of UP should get rid of Kasab. Do not take any other meaning when I say Kasab. What I mean by KASAB is -- KA for Congress, SA for Samajwadi Party and B for BSP.)

“Kasab has harassed people a lot. I appeal to you to come forward and support the BJP to make the state free from parties who have only looted the state,” Shah said.

Shah’s choice of letters though are more than just a stringing together of the first syllables of the BJP’s rival parties; it is also the name of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab, the only one to have been caught alive. Kasab was hanged in 2012.

Shah also took pot shots at the state chief minister, saying his scheme of free laptops was implemented after asking people their religion.

“Akhilesh is UP’s chief minister for last five years. Why does he ask ‘kab ayenge achche din’ (When will good days come)?” Shah said in response to Akhilesh’s attack on the BJP’s 2014 general election slogan.

He even attacked Akhilesh for campaigning for a minister accused of rape, instead of sending him to jail.

Insisting that the development of the state was not possible by the Congress, SP, and BSP, Shah said the BJP would ensure the state’s growth.

He mocked Rahul Gandhi for demanding an account of the Modi government’s two-and-a-half years in power so far.

“We will give an account of every penny in 2019 when the Lok Sabha election will be held. Since this is the UP election, it’s Akhilesh’s turn to give an account of the work done in UP,” said Shah.

Attacking the SP-Congress alliance, Shah said that it was not a partnership between two parties, rather it was a pact between two corrupt clans.

Shah accused the SP leaders of amassing wealth through corrupt means. He said those SP workers who used to live in huts and rode cheap mopeds had built multi-storied buildings and owned swanky cars in the five-year SP rule.

After Modi’s SCAM attack, Akhilesh Yadav had his own explanation for SCAM – Save Country from Amit Shah and Modi.

Earlier, Shah, who arrived on late Tuesday evening, held a meeting with some senior BJP workers. He also called on candidates on five assembly seats of Varanasi — Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Cantt, Sevapuri, and Rohania. Varanasi has eight assembly seats.