Amit Shah raps Rahul Gandhi over his quota remark in America
New Delhi (PTI): Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah came down heavily on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday for his remark on reservation, and said it has once again brought to the forefront the Congress' anti-reservation face.
Sending a stern message to Gandhi, Shah said that as long as the BJP is there, neither can anyone abolish reservation nor can anyone mess with the nation's security.
Shah's comments came after Gandhi told students of Georgetown University in the US that the Congress would think of scrapping reservations when "India is a fair place", which he said is not the case right now.
In a post on X, Shah said, "Standing with forces that conspire to divide the country and making anti-national statements have become a habit for Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party."
He added that whether it was supporting the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference's "anti-national and anti-reservation agenda" in Jammu and Kashmir or making "anti-India statements" on foreign platforms, Rahul Gandhi has "always threatened" the nation's security and hurt sentiments.
"Rahul Gandhi's statement lays bare the Congress's politics of causing rifts on the lines of regionalism, religion, and linguistic differences. By speaking about abolishing reservations in the country, Rahul Gandhi has once again brought the Congress's anti-reservation face to the forefront," Shah wrote.
The Union home minister said the thoughts that were in the Lok Sabha leader of the opposition's mind have eventually found their way out as words.
"I want to tell Rahul Gandhi that as long as the BJP is there, neither can anyone abolish reservations nor can anyone mess with the nation's security," he said.
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Decision on next Maharashtra CM to be taken 'in a day or two', says Shinde
New Delhi (PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said he had "good and positive" discussions with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda on the issue of government formation in the state.
Speaking to reporters here before leaving for Mumbai, Shinde said the decision on the next chief minister of Maharashtra will be taken "in a day or two" in another meeting of the Mahayuti coalition in the state capital.
Shinde, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, met Shah and Nadda late Thursday to thrash out a power-sharing pact for the next government in Maharashtra after the BJP-led coalition registered a thumping majority in the Assembly elections.
"We will take a decision (on Maharashtra CM) in a day or two. We have held discussions, and the discussions will continue. You will get to know when we take a final decision," the outgoing chief minister said.
Shinde said that he would not be an obstacle in the government formation in the state and abide by the decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah.
"This 'ladka bhau' (beloved brother) designation is higher than anything else for me," he said.
Shinde said the meeting with Shah and Nadda was "good and positive".
"We all discussed the formation of government. There is good coordination between the allies, we are all very positive and we will honour the clear-cut mandate given to us by the people. We will form the government soon," he said.
"The meeting was good and positive. This was the first meeting. There will be another meeting of the Mahayuti in Mumbai," Shinde told reporters early Friday.
The Shiv Sena leader said the people of Maharashtra have re-elected them with a thumping majority and respecting the mandate is the topmost priority, not "running after posts".
Recovering from its Lok Sabha elections losses, the BJP bagged 132 Assembly seats, the highest among all constituents of the Mahayuti alliance. Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP also performed well. Sena won 57 while NCP bagged 41 seats.
The Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a setback with the grand old party registering one of its worst performances in the Assembly polls as it won only 16 seats. Sharad Pawar's NCP(SP) won just 10 seats, whereas Uddhav Thackeray's (UBT) won 20 seats.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections were held on November 20, and the results were declared on November 23.
