Shah hits out at Rahul, rejects graft charges in Rafale deal
New Delhi, Aug 10 : BJP President Amit Shah on Friday hit out at Congress President Rahul Gandhi, saying he is not a "sahabzade" who has got the top post due to a family.
Shah also rejected charges of corruption levelled by former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie in the Rafale fighter jet deal, saying credence should be given to the Defence Minister's statement and not those "who did not get jobs."
During an interview after unveilinga a book "Blueprint for an Economic Miracle" authored by Pradeep Gupta at Constitution Club, Shah expressed confidence that people of the country will again elect Narendra Modi as Prime Minister with a better mandate than it got in 2014.
Answering questions from the moderator, he refused to speak on Rahul Gandhi hugging the Prime Minister in Lok Sabha during the debate on no-confidence motion.
"I will not comment on it. It is not my level," he said.
But he took a jab at him when he was asked if the BJP will have to work hard to win assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
"Paseena bahana hamare swabhav me hai (working hard is in our nature)...hum koi sahabzade nahi hain jinko parampara me parivar mila hai (I am not sahabzade who has got family in tradition)," he said.
To a question over allegations of corruption in Rafale deal leveled by former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, he said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the base price of Rafale fighter aircraft negotiated by the Modi government is less than what was finalised by the UPA.
"Will you give importance to the Defence Minister's statement or those who did not get jobs," he said, adding the government has already clarified on the matter following Opposition charges.
He expressed the hope that the BJP will retain power in all the three states with a comfortable majority because the government in these states have addressed the concerns of the people.
Listing the achievements of the Modi government and the welfare schemes being run by it, he said the people have decided to again elect Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister.
"There is no doubt about it," he said.
In response to a query about fugitives Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, Mehul Choksi and others who left the country after allegedly looting public money, the BJP chief said the Modi government will take every step to bring them back.
"The process to bring them back is already on. There is fear among all those who loot public money," he said.
Asked about posters put up by Trinamool Congress against him a day before his rally in West Bengal, Shah said it has benefited him and people will attend the rally in large numbers.
"Our state unit has no money. These posters have given me publicity. Tomorrow there would be a huge gathering," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
