There was fear of riots under Congress rule: Amit Shah

Speaking at a gathering in Rupal which falls under his Lok Sabha constituency of Gandhinagar, Amit Shah said: “Such incidents of violence occurred back then. Twice, the Lord [Jagannath]’s chariot [for the yatra] was taken away.”

Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday hit out at the Congress saying that during its rule in Gujarat, people would hold their breath during the annual Jagannath Rath Yatra fearing violence and riots.

Union home minister Amit Shah. (ANI Photo)

Speaking at a gathering in Rupal which falls under his Lok Sabha constituency of Gandhinagar, Shah said: “Such incidents of violence occurred back then. Twice, the Lord [Jagannath]’s chariot [for the yatra] was taken away. But from the time people of Gujarat have taken away power from Congress and given it to the BJP, such incidents have not taken place.”

Shah, who is on a three-day visit to the state since Thursday, flagged off the yatra in Ahmedabad early morning on Friday. The religious event is being held after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel, who has been recovering from Covid-19, was among those who joined the procession.

Attacking the Congress at another event in the day, Shah said: “During Congress rule in Gujarat, have you seen any rath yatra procession that has gone smoothly?... Under BJP’s rule, nobody can dare disrupt any rath yatra procession. Riots and curfew are history in Gujarat. If a 15-year-old student here was asked today about a curfew, he may not be able to answer for he has not seen one...” he said.

He also listed a number of development projects in the country being carried out under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress hit back at Shah was bringing up issues on an auspicious day.

“It is indeed sad that the country’s home minister chose to talk about riots on the day of Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra... He keeps raking the past as the BJP leadership does not have anything new to say...” said state Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi.