Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Oct 22: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday hit out at Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his allegations of “vote chori” and collusion between the Election Commission and the BJP, accusing the Congress of using the issue as an excuse to explain its electoral defeats.

Addressing an event in Delhi on his birthday, Shah launched projects worth Rs 8,941 crore aimed at cleaning the Yamuna and improving sewage treatment and wastewater management. He also criticised the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over its governance in Delhi and Punjab.

“The BJP keeps winning elections, and the opposition is troubled by it. That is why they have come up with the excuse of ‘vote chori’, or vote theft,” Shah said.

“Rahul ji, you keep talking about vote theft because you want to protect the votes of infiltrators,” he added.

Shah argued that the BJP had been winning elections in several states even before Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, while the Congress had remained out of power in many states for decades.

“Congress, its allies accuse BJP of vote theft but are out of power in many states for decades,” he said.

Referring to the Congress's electoral record, Shah questioned whether the party's electoral setbacks had begun only after Modi became Prime Minister.

“When I say the BJP will remain in power for 30 years, they accuse us of stealing votes. They ask how Amit Shah knows the election results in advance. Amit Shah was born here, lives here and will die here. I do not have to travel abroad every six months. I live among the people of this country,” he said.

Shah also criticised Rahul Gandhi over opposition protests in Delhi, asserting that political demonstrations could not overturn an electoral mandate.

“You cannot overturn the people's mandate through political manoeuvres and mob pressure. Winning elections is not about staging protests and sit-ins,” he said.

Turning to the Yamuna cleaning initiative, Shah accused previous Congress and AAP governments in Delhi of allowing untreated sewage to flow into the river. He said the BJP government was committed to cleaning the Yamuna by May 2029.

“Congress, AAP govts allowed discharge of sewer water in Yamuna; we will clean it by May 2029,” Shah said.

The projects launched at the event are aimed at strengthening sewage treatment infrastructure, improving wastewater management, expanding sewer connections and reducing pollution in the river.

Shah also targeted the AAP government in poll-bound Punjab, accusing it of failing to tackle the drug menace and expressing confidence that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would come to power in the state.

“Drug menace prevalent in Punjab; people of state want NDA government,” he said.

“AAP is going to be routed in Punjab elections, we will end drug trafficking in state,” Shah added.