Shirala (Maharashtra): Union Home Minister Amit Shah hit out at the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) over the resolution demanding the restoration of Article 370 passed in the Jammu-Kashmir assembly, and strongly affirmed that the erstwhile article would not be reinstated even after four generations of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) supremo Sharad Pawar.
"National Conference and Congress party passed a resolution in the J&K assembly to bring back Article 370, that Kashmir is not an integral part of India. Today, I am saying it on the land of Sambhaji Maharaj - Sharad Pawar sahab, even if your four generations come, we will not let Article 370 be back," he said.
He further asked whether Aurangabad should have been renamed as Sambhajinagar or not.
"The MVA and Uddhav Thackeray opposes this move but the name will remain Sambhajinagar," he said.
The Home Minister further slammed Maha Vikas Aghadi accusing it of indulging in 'appeasement politics.'
"The entire country is upset with some provisions of the Waqf board made by the Congress party. PM Modi brought a bill in the parliament to bring a change in that. In Karnataka, the entire village including temples and the land of the people has been declared the property of the Waqf," Shah said.
He added, "I have come to ask Pawar Sahab and Uddhav ji, tell me whether you will support the bill or oppose it. They'll not answer. If they (MahaVikasAghadi) come to power, they will also try to transfer the land of the farmers in the name of the Waqf board."
The Home Minister further said that till the time the NDA government is in power the government would not allow anyone to touch the land of temples and farmers.
Speaking on the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, Shah said that Ram Lalla was in a 'tent' for 500 years and Congress was delaying the building of the temple.
"PM Modi came to power and in 5 years did the Bhoomi Pujan for the temple. Then he went on with the construction and did the Pran Pratishtha. Sharad Pawar, Rahul Gandhi and Uddhav Thackeray did not attend the ceremony as they are afraid of losing their vote bank. We have also constructed Kashi Vishwanath corridor and Somnath temple is going to be built in gold," he added.
He further said that only the Mahayuti government can put an end to appeasement politics. Shah added that the MVA was in power from 2004 to 2014 and during that period Maharashtra got 1 lakh 91 thousand crores while PM Modi gave 10 lakh 15 thousand crores in the last 10 years.
The Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with votes for all 288 constituencies to be counted on November 23.
The opposition MVA coalition, comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Nationalist Congress Party (SCP), seeks to reclaim power in the state, challenging the Mahayuti alliance, which includes Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena secured 56, and Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP won 122 seats, Shiv Sena 63, and Congress 42.
—ANI