Rahul's PM chance will never arrive: Amit Shah
What's the story
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has taken a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying his chance of becoming prime minister will never arrive. "If you want to become PM, stay in mock parliament your entire life; your turn won't come," Shah said during a speech in Chandigarh, as per PTI. The comments were made on Sunday amid the protest by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc in Delhi.
Protest details
INDIA bloc holds rally in Delhi
The INDIA bloc, which includes several opposition parties, held a rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi.
The protest was against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged discrepancies in electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The rally was attended by prominent leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress), Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress), and Abhishek Banerjee (TMC MP), among others.
Rally criticism
Gandhi rubbing salt into Sikh riot victims' wounds: Shah
Shah also slammed Gandhi for holding a rally on November 1, which he said was "rubbing salt into the wounds" of the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
He accused Gandhi of hurting Sikh sentiments with his "Mohabbat Ki Dukaan" slogan.
"For 15 years, effectively spanning three elections, he has been losing," Shah said, adding that Sonia Gandhi's dream of seeing her son become Prime Minister remains unfulfilled.
Democracy remarks
BJP's 'Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao' campaign
Separately, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dharmendra Pradhan also targeted Gandhi and the Congress during a padayatra in Faridabad.
He accused them of losing faith in democracy, the Constitution, Parliament, and the Election Commission.
This comes as part of BJP's nationwide campaign "Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao" (Save Democracy, End Anarchy).
Riot allegations
Congress accused of inciting violence during riots
Shah also accused the Congress of inciting violence during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
He recalled how thousands were killed and forced to flee, and slammed Rajiv Gandhi's statement at the time, quoting, "'When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.'"
Shah added, "When Narendra Modi's government came to power, we reopened all the cases against the rioters," he said, adding that financial assistance was provided to victims and key Congress leaders were jailed.