Union Home Minister Amit Shah left the Congress pleasently surprised during his speech on the Delhi services bill in the Lok Sabha on Thursday when he echoed Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's statements on the governance of the national capital.
"Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Rajaji (C Rajagopalachari), Rajendra Prasad and BR Ambedkar were against against the idea of Delhi being given the status of full statehood," Shah said on the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
His repeated praise of India's first PM, whom the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has attacked in the past, left Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury surprised.
"When we came to the House today, it felt good that our Amit Shah ji was repeatedly praising Nehru and the Congress party. I thought to myself, what am I seeing? Is this day or night?
.jpg)
.jpg)
"I thought I should run up to Mr Shah and put a sweet in his mouth. Because praise for Nehru and the Congress from his mouth was a happy surprise for me," Chowdhury said.
But Shah quickly corrected Chowdhury, reminding him that he had not praised Nehru but only quoted what he had said about Delhi.
"I have not praised Pandit Nehru. I have simply quoted what he has said. If they want to consider this praise, I have no objection to that," Shah retorted.
But Chowdhury was not ready to let the matter go just yet and tried to put Shah in a spot.
"You take the support of Nehru whenever you need it. If you had done this all through, we wouldn't have had to see (the events in) Manipur and Haryana. This is Delhi and it is our dil (heart)," Chowdhury replied.
What Shah said about the Delhi Services Bill
Initiating the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, Shah said the BJP and Congress had ruled the national capital without any confrontation, and problems arose only in 2015 when a government came that had no intention to serve but only be at loggerheads with the Centre.
"The problem with the Bill is not about control of transfer and postings of officers, but to hide the truth of the bungalow worth crores by gaining control over vigilance and to hide the truth about the corruption that has taken place," Shah said.
Shah issues PM Modi warning to Opposition
The MP from Gandhinagar in Gujarat also cautioned the opposition, which is building a coalition against the BJP-led NDA for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, saying that bills and laws were for the benefit of the people and should be supported or opposed solely for that purpose.
"It is my request to all the parties not to indulge in politics of supporting or opposing legislation just to win elections or gain the backing of some party.
"There are many ways to build new alliances. Bills and laws are for the benefit of the people. These should be supported or opposed keeping in mind the welfare of the people of Delhi," Shah said.
Shah also asserted that the efforts of the opposition to build an alliance against the BJP was an exercise in futility as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to return to power with a massive majority. (With PTI inputs)
.jpg)
