UPA govt was involved in scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore: Amit Shah

Jammu: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the Narendra Modi government has laid a strong foundation for the eradication of corruption from the country, while alleging that the previous Congress-led UPA government was involved in scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore.

Besides the Congress, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also launched a scathing attack on the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and asked who will take responsibility for the death of 42,000 people due to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

Shah said a new Jammu and Kashmir is in the making after the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution in 2019, with a 70-per cent decline in terror acts and stone-pelting almost done away with.

“(Narendra) Modi replaced the UPA government, which was involved in scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore. The prime minister has laid a strong foundation for a corruption-free India,” he said, addressing a public rally here. “Three families ruled Jammu and Kashmir for decades together and there was no development due to Article 370. As many as 42,000 people died due to terrorism and they are saying we should have kept Article 370 safeguarded,” Shah said.

The home minister said he wanted to ask NC president Farooq Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti that who is responsible for the death of the 42,000 people because their parties were in power in the erstwhile state at that time.

“Under Modi, the noose around terrorism has been tightened,” he said, adding that under the prime minister’s leadership, Jammu and Kashmir has started its journey on the path of progress.

Shah, who started his two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir by paying tributes to BJP ideologue Syama Prasad Mookerjee at the party headquarters here, said it was the latter’s sacrifice, motivation and pledge that there is no Article 370 today in Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory has been completely integrated with the country.