Modi in Centre, Khattar in Haryana will take country forward: Shah

Karnal, Nov 2 (IANS) Sounding the poll bugle for the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections in Haryana, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that the Modi government at the Centre and the Khattar dispensation in the state would take the country and the state forward.

"The Narendra Modi government at the Centre and Manohar Lal Khattar government in the state, both BJP governments, have left no stone unturned to take India and the state forward," he said at a massive public meeting named Antyodaya Mahasammelan in Karnal, the home district of Chief Minister Khattar, to mark the completion of nine years of the party's government in the state.

"I would like to tell the Congress today, if you want to understand how development is done, they can do so by going through the works done by PM Modi and CM Khattar," he stated.

In his nearly 25-minute address, after launching five state public welfare schemes, Shah said one of schemes is Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana. "People of the country had been waiting, demanding and praying for years that Ram Lalla would get grand temple...The Congress halted Ram Temple (construction) for years after Independence. People elected PM Modi for the second time and PM Modi performed its ‘bhumi pujan’ and now on January 22 (2024), he will also perform its ‘pran pratishtha’ (the consecration ceremony). I urge all of you to avail this Tirth Yojana and go for the darshan of Ram Lalla."

The other launched schemes comprised a hike in social security pension to Rs 3,000 from Rs 2,750 per month from January 1, 2024.

Slamming the main Opposition, Shah said, "The Congress is a party of cut, commission and corruption."

He asked state Congress leader Bhupinder Hooda, "Can he see development works in the last nine years or his eyes are still shut."

Lambasting the INDIA alliance, he said they joined hands to serve their own interests.

The Union Minister also inaugurated Ayushman Bharat Chirayu Yojana at the Antyodaya Mahasammelan, which he dedicated to the completion of nine years of the double-engine government of good governance and welfare of the poor.

In an attempt to allure the people, postcards with the Chief Minister's address were given after the rally to the general public who was asked by the Chief Minister to directly communicate with him through that postcard.

As the Home Minister was leaving the stage after finishing his speech, a physically challenged man, who was sitting among beneficiaries, hurled a shoe towards the stage. Due to distance from the stage, the shoe fell long before it.

The police immediately arrested Ravindra Singh, a resident of Kurukshetra who said his pension was stopped without citing any reason.