Gujarat has seen riots and days of curfews under Congress: Amit Shah

Pic courtesy: @AmitShah

Gandhinagar:  BJP president Amit Shah on Monday said the upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls was a fight between dynastic and caste politics of Congress and his party's development agenda.

He asserted that the people of Gujarat had made up their mind to give credence to development.

"The people of Gujarat want peace and development. They have witnessed many riots during Congress rule. In 365 days there used to be curfew on 200 days in the state," he said. 

In an exclusive interview with Zee Media, the BJP chief also said, "The Congress has been acting as an obstruction in the growth of the state. Narmada dam is an example of it... Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh created hurdles so that Narendra Modi could not become successful."

"It has been unfortunate that the governments in Gujarat and Delhi have been different. This will be the first time that the same party will rule Gujarat. This will speed up the process of growth," he added. 

Exuding confidence, Shah said that in all the elections that were held after Modi became Prime Minister, the BJP's vote share had increased in the state. "We will win 163 seats in Gujarat," he said. 

On note ban and GST, he said that they will not be detrimental to the BJP's fortunes in the upcoming elections. "GST is historic. It will immensely benefit the traders," he maintained.

At the same time, he said, "The issue of corruption regarding Rafale deal will be answered strongly by us if Congress raises it in Parliament."

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has attacked PM Modi and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over the Rafale fighter aircraft agreement and has asked them to answer questions regarding the deal. 

When asked about the delay in the convening the Winter Session of Parliament, Shah said, "In 2009/2011 the Congress too had rescheduled Parliament sessions. Elections are the biggest festival of democracy and everyone has the right to campaign for it. This is why the Parliament's Winter Session was extended." 

On 'Mann ki Baat, Chai ke Saath' event organised by the BJP on Sunday, he posed the question, "It was started by an online portal of the Congress party. Does a poor tea seller not have the right to be the PM of India? Do only those people whose grandparents have been the PM of the country have that right?"

The Congress had faced a barrage of criticism for a derogatory meme published in an online magazine linked to the party that seemed to poke fun at PM Modi's past as a tea seller. 

Despite Patidar leader Hardik Patel joining hands with the Congress, Shah appeared confident of the support of the community. "This time too the Patidars will come forward to support us," he said. 

Assembly polls are due to be held in Gujarat in two phases on December 9 and 14.