Shah targets Cong over obscene CD episode in Chhattisgarh
Ambikapur (C'garh): BJP president Amit Shah targeted Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Friday, asking if he was dreaming of forming a government in Chhattisgarh under the leadership of a man who had "put to shame" women by allegedly making a fake obscene CD.
Shah also accused Gandhi of supporting "urban Naxals" and asserted that his party will not tolerate the activities of anti-national elements and put them behind bars.
"Rahul Baba, are you dreaming of forming government in Chhattisgarh under the leadership of a person who has put to shame all the women in Chhattisgarh by preparing a fake CD?" the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief asked.
He was apparently referring to Chhattisgarh Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel, an accused in a case involving the circulation of a "sex CD" purportedly featuring a state BJP minister.
The "sex CD" episode had rocked Chhattisgarh last year and Baghel was named as one of the five accused in the case.
The Congress leader has been accused of circulating the CD, which the minister has termed as "fake". Last month, Baghel was sent to jail in the case and later released on bail by a court. Addressing a gathering of about 36,000 booth-level BJP workers from Surguja division at the Kala Kendra Grounds in Ambikapur town, Shah asked Gandhi to clarify who would lead his party in next month's Assembly polls in the state.
"I want to challenge the AICC (All India Congress Committee) president to clarify who will be leading the Congress in Chhattisgarh in the upcoming election," he said.
The BJP had already made it clear that it would contest the polls under the leadership of Chief Minister Raman Singh, whose three-term rule had transformed the lives of the poor, farmers and tribals of the state, Shah said.
The Congress is yet to formally declare its chief ministerial candidate in Chhattisgarh, which will go the polls in two phases -- on November 12 and 20 -- for its 90-member Assembly. Shah said the upcoming Assembly elections in five states would decide the future of the country.
"These polls will decide the future of the country. In 2019, the general election will be held. The Congress party has formed a 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) against the (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji-led NDA.
"I appreciate the courage of the Opposition, but I want to ask, how come Rahul Baba is dreaming of forming governments at the Centre and the state (Chhattisgarh)?" he said.
Shah accused Gandhi of supporting the "urban Naxals" recently arrested by the Maharashtra police in connection with a case of violence at Koregaon-Bhima and said the BJP will not tolerate anti-national elements and put them behind bars.
