Sharad Pawar is ‘mastermind’ of corruption, Uddhav Thackeray ‘chief’ of Aurangzeb fan club: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday accused NCP SP President Sharad Pawar of being the “mastermind” of corruption while also accusing Shiv Sena UBT Chief Uddhav Thackeray of being “chief” of the Aurangzeb fan club.

“Sharad Pawar institutionalised the corruption. He is the biggest mastermind of corruption in the country’s political landscape while Uddhav Thackeray is the chief of the Aurangzeb fan club. He (Thackeray) joined hands with those who supported Kasab and the Popular Front of India,” the Home Minister said while addressing the BJP’s state convention.

Sounding poll bugle for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly election, the Home Minister asked the BJP cadres not to get disheartened as the party could not get a majority on its own, saying they could make up the deficit in seats by winning a bigger victory in the upcoming Assembly election in Maharashtra.

“Don’t be confused and don’t get misled by the opposition’s narratives and false promises. Work with unity not just for the victory of ‘Kamal’ (lotus) but also for the allies (Shiv Sena and NCP) for the formation of the MahaYuti government,” the Home Minister said.

He asked the workers to tell the voters that the Modi-led government has made the country “safe” and “secure” and similarly, it is the MahaYuti government which will make Maharashtra “safe” and “secure.”

He attacked Sharad Pawar, saying that it was the BJP government which gave the reservation to the Maratha community during its rule between 2014 and 2019.

“When the Sharad Pawar government came to power, the Maratha quota was scrapped. After the MahaYuti government assumed power, the Maratha community was provided with the reservation. Therefore, the BJP-led NDA/MahaYuti government should come back to power so that the Maratha quota will remain in place. If the Maha Vikas government comes to power again, they will scrap the reservation again,” the Home Minister said.

Amit Shah slammed Sharad Pawar also for accusing the BJP-led NDA government of importing milk powder.

“How can he spread lies? He is targeting the government based on an old government notification. I asked Minister Piyush Goyal, who clarified that it was not the BJP-led NDA government’s decision but taken during the UPA government when Sharad Pawar was the minister,” the Home Minister said.

He said that the people should not get confused as the Narendra Modi government has not imported a single gram of milk powder in the last 10 years and the milk powder won’t be imported again in the next five years.

“They are trying to win the elections by spreading lies,” the Home Minister said.

He also claimed that despite working as the Cooperation Minister, Sharad Pawar failed to address the issue of income tax demand of Rs 10,000 crore made from the Maharashtra cooperative sugar factories.

“After assuming the charge of the Cooperation Minister, I got the necessary file cleared within a minute following my meeting with PM Modi,” the Home Minister said.

He also criticised Sharad Pawar for the lack of adequate development of Maharashtra during his tenure as the Chief Minister and later during the UPA government.

“During the 10-year UPA rule, Maharashtra got a paltry Rs 1.91 lakh crore against Rs 10.5 lakh crore provided by the BJP government in the last ten years. Congress and Sharad Pawar cannot work for the welfare of the poor while the BJP government has always worked hard. The MahaYuti government has announced Ladki Bahin and Ladka Bhau schemes apart from other welfare schemes,” the Home Minister said.

He appealed to all the leaders and workers to effectively counter the "misleading' campaign by the opposition.