Sharad Pawar kingpin of corruption: Shah

New Delhi, July 21

Calling NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar the ‘sargana’ (ringleader) of corruption, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that the veteran leader had institutionalised corruption in the country.

Addressing a conclave of BJP party workers in Pune, the Union Home Minister also launched a scathing attack on the Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Shah said Rahul Gandhi’s ‘arrogance’ would be crushed after the BJP and its allies win the forthcoming Assembly polls in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana slated to be held later this year.

He added that the people of India had given gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi their stamp of approval in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

Besides, he also targeted former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. The Home Minister alleged that Thackeray was sitting with those who sought clemency for 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon.

Stating that the party workers would will work harder and set new goals, Shah said, “Saffron must rise again in Maharashtra. We will do a review for the 2024 elections to form the Lotus-Yuti (Mahayuti) government. I want to say that all workers had worked hard to bring glory to the BJP. PM Modi made a hat-trick by becoming PM for the third consecutive time.”

The Union Home Minister also exuded confidence that the BJP-led alliance would perform better in the ensuing Maharashtra Assembly elections than it did in 2019 and 2014.

Incidentally, in the recent General Election, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance had faced a rout as it managed to win only 17 out of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi, led by the Congress-NCP (SP)-Shiv Sena (UBT), had bagged 30 seats, while one seat was won by an Independent candidate.

Our wins will crush Rahul’s ‘arrogance’

Rahul Gandhi’s ‘arrogance’ will be crushed after the BJP and its allies win the forthcoming Assembly polls in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana slated to be held later this year. — Amit Shah, Union Home Minister