Rahul Gandhi will lose by a big margin in Raebareli, says Amit Shah

BELAGAVI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday slammed the Congress, saying that its move to field Rahul Gandhi from the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat will not be successful as the party leader will lose by a huge margin.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi successfully launched Chandrayaan in the very first attempt. On the other hand, Sonia Gandhi has tried to launch Rahul 'baba' 20 times and failed each time. He ran away from Amethi and today, for the 21st time, his candidature has been announced from Raibareli. I can assure you that he is going to lose by a huge margin against BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh," Amit Shah said while addressing a rally at Chikodi in Karnataka's Belagavi district.

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had taken a dig at Congress' decision, stating that the party's "Shehzada" fears defeat in Wayanad so he has chosen the Raebareli constituency as an "escape route".

"I have said it before that the 'Shehzada' (prince) will be defeated from Wayanad and that, soon after the elections at Wayanad gets over, he will go in search of a second seat. His followers were claiming that he will fight from Amethi. But, it seems that he is scared of Amethi too. So now the 'prince' is trying to find an escape route from Raebareli," PM Modi said while addressing a rally at Burdwan in West Bengal.

Meanwhile, Shah accused the Congress of promoting 'parivarvaad' (nepotism), saying the BJP remains focused on protecting the country's 'parampara' (heritage).

"Congress has always insulted the culture and heritage of the country while PM Modi has protected it. You got him elected for the second time and he built the Ram Mandir which Congress could not do in 70 years," Amit Shah said during the rally in support of BJP candidate Anna Saheb Jolle.

He also criticised the Congress leaders, including AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, for not attending the Ram Mandir's inauguration in Ayodhya in January.

He also listed the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor project and upliftment of the Somnath Mandir, Kedarnath Dham, and Badri Dham as some other achievements of the Modi government besides the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

"For 70 years, the Congress which ruled the country could not abrogate Article 370. The terrorists targeted the country. When Prime Minister Modi assumed power for the second time, Article 370 was abolished. Rahul Gandhi claimed there will be bloodshed, but not even protests took place," Amit Shah said.