“State machinery being used to convert poor tribals”
STATE TIMES NEWS
Pandariya (Chhattisgarh): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday attacked the Congress, claiming that religious conversion was on the rise in Chhattisgarh under the party-led government, which he alleged was using the state machinery to convert poor tribals.
Addressing a rally in Pandariya assembly constituency in the poll-bound state, he also accused the Congress of indulging in scams and said if the BJP is voted to power in the state, those who committed corruption will be sent to jail.
He dubbed Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel a “prepaid CM” of the Congress, accusing him of turning the state exchequer into an ATM of the grand old party.
“In the Congress rule, religious conversion is on the rise. The Constitution gives liberty to every citizen to follow the faith of their choice. But they (government) have started using the state machinery to convert poor tribals, which is not in the interest of the state. As a result, clashes have erupted in every house and village of the state, and the law and order situation has deteriorated,” he said.
Our government will not interfere in anyone’s religious issue, but if any government encourages conversion, stern action will be taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to prevent it, he added.
“Bhupesh Baghel is a prepaid CM of Congress and if he comes to power again by mistake, this prepaid card (referring to CM) will be swiped by his party and thousands of crores of rupees will be taken by Congress. If all money goes to Delhi, how will development take place in Chhattisgarh?” Shah asked, targeting the Congress leadership.
“Like the prepaid SIM card stops working after money (balance) gets exhausted, the validity of CM ends after money gets exhausted. He (Baghel) committed lots of scams in five years so that his tenure (as CM) would not come to an end,” he added.
“Youths of the state say by watching him ‘Tees taka, Bhupesh Kaka’ (30 per cent commission by Baghel government),” he added.
Baghel is fondly called ‘Kaka’ (paternal uncle) in the state.
BJP candidates Bhavna Bohra from Pandariya seat and Ishwar Sahu from Saja were also on the stage.
Referring to Sahu, Shah said, “When I sent a message to Ishwar Sahu (for contesting elections) he denied. I urged him that he had to contest elections for the justice for brutal lynching of his son Bhuneshwar. He had to fight so that similar injustice was not done with other Bhuneshwar. CM has been doing politics of appeasement. Victory of Ishwar will put an end to it.”
“I want to ask whether Dalits, tribals and backward people do not have rights over the exchequer of Chhattisgarh…Bhupesh Baghel has turned the state exchequer into an ‘ATM’ and served it to brother-sister in Delhi (referring to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra),” he said.
Instead of focusing on development of the poor, he (CM) is developing his own politics, he added.
Listing out the alleged scams that occurred under the Congress government, Shah said, in his long political career he had never seen a person who has committed corruption in cow dung. He was referring to the government’s cow dung procurement scheme.
Polling to the 90-member state assembly will be held in two phases this month.
While Pandariya is among 20 assembly segments which will go to polls in the first phase on November 7, Saja is among 70 constituencies that will see voting in the second phase on November 17.
