Shah sharpens pitch for civic polls in Maharashtra—Balasaheb would've hugged Modi for Op Sindoor
Amit Shah on Maharashtra tour
Shah is on a two-day tour of Maharashtra. On the first day, he was in Nagpur in the morning and Nanded in the afternoon. He performed the 'bhoomipujan' for the newly built 'Swasti Niwas' at the National Cancer Institute and Forensic Science University in Nagpur, and former CM Vasantrao Naik's statue in Nanded, where he also addressed the rally.
Addressing BJP workers and supporters, he said, 'This is New India and, under the leadership of Modi, we have given this message to the world—India can't be messed with.'
'Pakistan probably forgot that the Congress government was in place a decade ago, nearly 11 years ago, and now, it is the Modi government. We do not take anything lying down. They attacked us in Uri; we did air strikes. They attacked us in Pulwama; we showed them what we could do in Balakot. Now, post-Pahalgam, we did Operation Sindoor,' he said.
Shah also lauded the armed forces for Operation Black Forest, which allegedly eliminated over 30 Naxals. 'I assure you today that by 31 March 2026, we will completely eliminate Naxalism from this country,' he said.
Deshpande said Nanded had been a Congress bastion for a long time. Ahead of the local body polls, the Mahayuti remains on weaker grounds in Nanded, even though it did win assembly constituencies last year in Nanded.
'Nanded had been a Nizam state close to Hyderabad (the Nizam's capital). So, it has a sizeable Muslim population. But that could be one of the reasons why polarisation would work in Nanded, and the talks of Operation Sindoor or such operations will also work. Besides, the BJP is on weaker grounds in Nanded, but with Ashok Chavan on its side, it wants to add more seats from this belt,' Deshpande said.
Speaking at the rally, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, like Amit Shah, questioned the Opposition, especially Rahul Gandhi.
'At a time when everyone is strongly behind our forces, Congress is speaking the language of Pakistan. Rahul Gandhi is questioning what happened to our aircraft—what Pakistan would ask. But it (Pakistan) knows it cannot ask because we have shown Pakistan its place. However, Congress is becoming like that country. Earlier, we had heard of PoK. Now, it is Congress-occupied Pakistan,' Fadnavis said.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: Chhagan Bhujbal is a Maharashtra minister, again. The 3 reasons behind his comeback
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