BJP will be in power at Centre for at least 30 years: Amit Shah
New Delhi, Mar 29 (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah has exuded confidence the BJP will remain in power at the Centre for at least 30 years due to its consistent performance.
In a democracy, he said, the victory of any party depends on its hard work and if it toils day in and and day out and "if you live not for yourself but for the country, victory will be yours".
"When I was the national president of the BJP, I had said the BJP will remain in power for the next 30 years. Only 10 years have gone now," he said at the Times Now Summit 2025 Friday night.
The senior BJP leader said when a party performs well, it gets the trust of the public and the confidence to win. "But those who do not perform do not have this confidence," he said.
Asked about the Uniform Civil Code, the home minister said all BJP-ruled states will introduce the UCC one-by-one as it is one of the key agendas of the BJP since was formed.
The home minister said since its inception, the BJP's resolve has been to introduce the UCC in the country.
"It will come. It was the decision of the Constituent Assembly (to introduce UCC). The Congress might have forgotten it but we have not. We said we would abrogate Article 370. We have done that. We said we would construct a Ram temple at Ayodhya. We have done that too. Now UCC remains. We will do that too," he said.
Shah said the Uttarakhand government has already enacted the law for implementation of the UCC in the state.
"One by one, all the BJP-ruled state governments will introduce it. Gujarat has already set up a committee for it. It is an ongoing process. All states will bring it as per their convenience," he said.
Asked about the alleged discovery of a huge amount of cash at the Delhi residence of High Court judge Yashwant Varma, the home minister said the Chief Justice of India has taken cognisance of the issue and ordered an inquiry (through a committee of three high court judges).
"We are cooperating with it. We should wait for the outcome of the committee constituted by the chief justice," he said.
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a PIL seeking Delhi Police to register an FIR over the alleged discovery of burnt wads of cash from Justice Varma's residence.
Shah said, "When no FIR can be registered, how can a seizure be carried out? The FIR can only be registered with the Chief Justice of India's permission."
Asked whether the RSS interferes in the functioning of the Modi government, the home minister said there has been no interference from the Sangh, the BJP's ideological fountainhead.
"The RSS has been preparing patriots for the last 100 years. I have learnt from the RSS how to keep patriotism at centre while keeping many dimensions together. There is no question of interference," he said.
Asked about the prevailing internal security situation, Shah said as union home minister he got three problems as legacy issues: Naxal violence, terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and insurgency in the Northeast.
"In last 10 years, 16,000 youths have surrendered in these three theatres. As the home minister of the country, it is my duty to bring peace in all these places. It is the priority of the prime minister and naturally it is my priority too. Because of the problems, development stopped in these places," he said.
Asked about the government's stand on the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, the home minister said he did not want to comment on it as it is subjudice.
"I am sure the Supreme Court will deliver an appropriate order on it. We will definitely obey the court order," he said.
The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, prohibits the conversion of any place of worship and aims to maintain the religious character of such places as it existed on August 15, 1947, with the exception of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case.
The Supreme Court is currently dealing with multiple petitions challenging the Act.
Asked why the government has not yet filed an affidavit in the court on the subject, Shah said, "We will certainly file an affidavit".
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Uncompromising stand against Bangladesh-origin Muslims swayed votes for NDA: Himanta
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday asserted that his government's "uncompromising stand" in taking steps against Bangladesh-origin Muslims swayed people in favour of the BJP-led NDA in this year's assembly elections, resulting in the alliance securing a two-thirds majority.
He maintained that the NDA's win was a victory for the Assamese indigenous people and affirmed continuing developmental work in the state.
Addressing a press conference, Sarma said, "The double-engine government and unprecedented development the state witnessed in the last five years are among the main reasons for our victory."
"We had assured of securing the Assamese 'jati' (community) and took steps to deliver it. Assam progressed in the cultural and economic sectors. Our uncompromising stand against Bangladesh-origin Muslims also had an impact," he said.
The NDA swept to a third successive term in the state by securing 102 seats in the 126-member state assembly. The BJP won 82 seats, while its allies AGP and Bodoland People's Front bagged 10 each.
On Sarma predicting nearly exact numbers for the alliance before the results, he said the assessment was based on his connect with the people.
"I visited every assembly segment thrice before elections. I have a good mass connect system, which helped in my assessment," he said.
Sarma claimed that recommendations of the Justice (retd) Biplab Sharma committee on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which deals with constitutional safeguards for the indigenous Assamese population, were implemented by his government.
"It was because of it that the Assamese people won yesterday. It was not just a BJP victory," he asserted.
The CM claimed the NDA secured the support of all sections of people, including Gen Z, which was evident in the young faces fielded by the BJP emerging victorious.
He dismissed the charge that the BJP has an "outsider" among its MLAs, referring to Guwahati Central legislator-elect Vijay Gupta.
"Vijay Gupta is an Assamese. If he is a Bihari, we (ancestors) also came from Kannauj. We all have come from different parts. Mongoloids came from outside, Aryans came from outside. This outsider narrative has been created by you all (media)," Sarma said.
On the Congress' poor poll performance, he maintained that there were very few people in the opposition party who understood the sentiments of the Assamese people.
Otherwise, the Congress would not have brought singer Zubeen Garg's name in its manifesto or levied allegations against an Assamese woman, Sarma added, referring to the opposition party's charges of multiple passports and undisclosed foreign investments of his wife.
The CM also maintained that Raijor Dal could have won four-five seats had it not joined hands with the Congress.
The Congress and Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal were part of a six-party opposition alliance that fought the elections together. Congress won 19 seats and Raijor Dal two, with the other allies drawing a blank.
"If Akhil Gogoi had not made the mistake, Sherman Ali Ahmed would have been his MLA today," Sarma said, referring to the expelled Congress leader who won as a TMC candidate after Raijor Dal refused him a ticket owing to the alliance.
On Gogoi being the only opposition MLA to win from a Hindu-majority seat, Sarma said, "It is the people of Sibsagar who decided who will represent them. On my part, it was the only Hindu majority seat where I didn't go to campaign."
"Akhil Gogoi should be kept in the assembly, else he will create chaos on the streets with his protests," Sarma said.
He also claimed that Gogoi had failed to make a single serious speech in the assembly during his first tenure as MLA and dubbed the Raijor Dal president a "comic relief" when the proceedings get dull.
