Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday hit out at the Opposition, saying the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will return to power with a resounding majority in 2029, hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi vowed that the ongoing protests against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar will continue.
Earlier in the day, the Opposition announced a “mission to restore democracy” that might include a political fight against the Union government’s decision to de-notify Jantar Mantar as a protest site. The parties also agreed to wait for the Supreme Court’s decision on their petition filed on Monday before another stir in Delhi .
Citing the outcome of recent bypolls in states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan and West Bengal, where the Bharatiya Janata Party won, Shah said the Congress leadership, particularly the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Gandhi, should reflect on recent defeats. Pointing out that the BJP did not face anti-incumbency even after four decades in power in Gujarat, Shah said the Congress had not won a single election in the duration. “Rahul Gandhi should engage in self-reflection by learning from the election results. Instead of questioning the election process with every defeat, the Congress should reflect on its acceptability among the people. “I also want to ask Rahul, is this the result of SIR? Do you dismiss the popularity of the BJP and Modi’s popularity by calling it the result of SIR? Apart from Gandhi, Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge attended the meeting. Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders Tejashwi Yadav and Manoj Jha, Samajwadi Party leaders Anand Bhadauria, Harender Malik and M Nadvi, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Mahua Maji, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary MA Baby, Communist Party of India’s D Raja and party MP Sandosh Kumar, Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) lawmaker Supriya Sule, Jose K Mani of the Kerala Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi chief Thol Thirumavalavan were among those present, alongside student leaders Neha Bora and Aishe Ghosh.
The trust of the people is earned not through mere allegations and propaganda, but through public outreach and public service,” he said. The success of the BJP and NDA in the local bodies and by-elections in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tripura, and other states reflects the support of the people,” he said.
“I also want to tell Rahul Gandhi ji and his companions that in the 2029 general elections, the NDA will return to power with a resounding majority, and the Congress will face defeat for the fourth consecutive time.
The minister said the Congress should reflect on why it did not win a single seat in by-elections that were held in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry. He also lashed out at Gandhi for criticising SIR and said the opposition to the exercise was an “action plan to protect infiltrators”. The people of this country are with Modi ji, with the BJP, with the NDA,” Shah said.
