Stop foreign tours, visit villages: Amit Shah slams Rahul for 'defaming' India

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of maligning India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi before an international audience, telling the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha to stop travelling abroad and visit villages if he wanted his party to return to power.His comments came a day after Gandhi told the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad that defeating PM Modi was a “done deal”. Gandhi said he was confident the Opposition would remove Modi from power and claimed there was growing fear within the ruling establishment.“Defaming India at international platforms will not help him come to power,” Shah said after laying the foundation stone for the National Heavy Engineering Cooperative in Pune.“If he aspires to return to power, he should stop travelling abroad and start visiting villages across India. Then, perhaps, he may have a chance.” Shah alleged that Gandhi had used the summit, organised by Telangana’s Congress government on November 13 and 14, to run down India’s democratic institutions and PM Modi’s development record. He asked whether any party could justify maligning the country and its prime minister before an international audience.SHAH TARGETS CONGRESS OVER POLL LOSSESShah accused the Congress of venting its frustration over three consecutive Lok Sabha defeats. He urged party workers to question their leadership over its electoral record and said the Congress could remain out of power for another 30 years if it continued on the same course. “Winning or losing elections depends on the performance of political parties and their leaders,” Shah said. He alleged that scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore had taken place during the Congress-led government’s two terms from 2004 to 2014.“People eventually voted the party out of power and brought Narendra Modi to the Prime Minister’s Office,” he said.The Union Home Minister claimed the Prime Minister had faced no corruption allegations in 12 years in office and cited India’s lunar mission, railway modernisation and airport expansion among his government’s achievements.- Ends