BJP will emerge as single largest party in S India

Hyderabad: Winding up BJP's electioneering on the last day of canvassing on Saturday, Union Home Miniter Amit Shah said the BJP will emerge as the single largest party in South India.

Addressing the media, Shah said the BJP would win more seats in Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and the NDA alliance in Andhra Pradesh is all set to emerge as the single largest party in South India in the results to be declared on June 4. In Telangana, he said, the party would win at least 10 seats.

In a scathing attack on the Congress and its leaders, Shah said due to the fear of Pakistan having an atom bomb, the grand old party (GOP) wants to give up India's rights over Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. He said former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had conducted nuclear tests at Pokhran on this day in 1998 and made the country a nuclear power.

The Congress does not have the courage to conduct surgical strikes and airstrikes, he alleged. Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook surgical strikes and airstrikes within 10 days after Pakistan terrorists attacked the country and finished them. These elections, he said, were a fight between the NDA led by Narendra Modi and INDI bloc led by Rahul Gandhi.

Referring to the reported comments of Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Pakistan having an atom bomb, the Home Minister said he would like to ask Rahul Gandhi if Pak-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) would be given to the neighbouring country because of it having atom bomb. “PoK belongs to India and we will take it, he said.

Referring to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's comments on surgical strikes, Shah asked, "Revanth Reddy, where did you keep your mind? You kept it in Italy?" Reddy on Friday claimed an intelligence failure in preventing the Pulwama incident.

"Modi ji tried to take political benefit from the surgical strike after Pulwama incident. My question to Modi ji is, what are you doing? Why did the Pulwama incident happen? Why did you let it happen? What are you doing about internal security? "Why did you not use agencies like IB, RAW? It is your failure. Nobody knows if a surgical strike actually took place or not," Reddy had said.