Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday asserted that Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, will not be restored even if Congress stalwart and late PM Indira Gandhi comes down from heaven.

The BJP’s star campaigner sought to corner the Congress over Muslim reservation and accused the main opposition party of deliberately stalling construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya for years.

With just a week left for the high-stakes assembly polls in Maharashtra, Shah stepped up his campaigning for the ruling Mahayuti front, of which the BJP is a member, and addressed three rallies in a day where he attacked the Congress and its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ally Shiv Sena (UBT).

Addressing a rally at Dhule in North Maharashtra, Shah said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should remember that even if his “fourth generation was to come”, Muslims won’t get reservations meant for Dalits, tribals and other backward castes.

“A few days ago, Ulemas (Muslim scholars) met the president of Congress party and said Muslims should be given reservation (in jobs and education). If reservation has to be given to Muslims, then reservations for SCs/STs/OBCs will have to be cut. Rahul Baba, not only you but even if your four generations were to come, they cannot cut the quota meant for SCs/STs/OBCs and give it to Muslims,” Shah insisted.

The Union minister made it clear that Article 370, scrapped in 2019 by the BJP-led central government, won’t be restored under any circumstances.

“Even if Indira Gandhi were to return from heaven, Article 370 won’t be restored,” the BJP stalwart told the gathering.

Describing the opposition MVA grouping as an “Aurangzeb Fan Club”, Shah noted the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance abides by the ideals of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and freedom fighter Veer Savarkar.

At another election meeting in Jalgaon, also in North Maharashtra, the former BJP president averred that if the MVA wins the November 20 assembly polls, the state will turn into an ATM (automated teller machine) for the Congress.

“They (MVA) will withdraw funds from Maharashtra by using the state’s resources and send the money to Delhi. In contrast, if the BJP-led Mahayuti forms a government, the Modi administration will ensure greater development for Maharashtra,” Shah said at the meeting in Chalisgaon town.

Targeting Gandhi, the Lok Sabha MP from Raebareli, he accused his party of making false promises and misleading people.

“Recently, Rahul Gandhi was seen waving a copy of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution. He used the same copy while taking the oath in Parliament. When some journalists got their hands on the very copy, it had blank pages. By showing a fake Constitution, Rahul broke the trust of people and insulted Babasaheb. Apparently, you have never read the Constitution, Rahul baba,” Shah said.

The “Sonia-Manmohan regime” didn’t act against Naxalism and terrorism for 10 years (2004-14) due to vote bank politics, the home minister opined.

“The entire Congress politics runs on deception. They are saying that after the formation of the Mahayuti government (in June 2022), investment in Maharashtra has reduced. The truth is after the formation of the government of (CM) Eknath Shinde and (deputy CM) Devendra Fadnavis, our Maharashtra is No.1 state in FDI inflows in India,” he said.

A Mahayuti government post-polls will work more for the welfare of women, farmers and other sections of society, Shah maintained.

“Your one vote will not only form a Mahayuti government but your one vote will also deposit Rs 2,100 in the account of Maharashtra’s beloved sisters. Your one vote will result in depositing Rs 15,000 instead of Rs 12,000 annually in farmers’ account,” he said.

The BJP leader said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guarantee is like ‘patthar ki lakeer’ (carved in stone), whereas the Congress reneged on pre-poll promises in Telangana, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh after coming to power in these states.

Targeting NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, Shah said the senior politician served as Maharashtra CM and also as a Union minister for many years, but did not do anything to give classical language status to Marathi.

At his third rally at Jintur in Parbhani district in the Marathwada region, Shah averred that Congress MP Gandhi, who has been campaigning for the MVA in Maharashtra, will fail once again.

“Sonia ji tried to land the plane named Rahul Baba 20 times and 20 times the plane crashed. Now again, an attempt is being made to land the plane for the 21st time in Maharashtra. Sonia ji, your “Rahul plane” is going to crash for the 21st time,” the BJP leader opined.

Shah accused the Congress of deliberately stalling construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya for years.

“PM Modi built the Ram temple and also constructed the Kashi Vishwanath corridor (in Varanasi) which was demolished by (Mughal emperor) Aurangzeb. Now, you should be ready to visit Gujarat as the Somnath temple is also being made of gold,” he told the gathering.

Modi has made the country safe and prosperous, Shah said.

“I have visited all the places like Vidarbha, North Maharashtra, West Maharashtra, Konkan, Mumbai, Marathwada. Do you want to know the result of assembly polls? Listen to me, on November 23 (result day), the Maha Vikas Aghadi is going to be wiped out from Maharashtra,” he declared.

Shah said Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, a former BJP ally, is now in alliance with those who opposed renaming Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Ties between India and the US are “most important” of all relationships in the 21st century, according to Congressman Mike Waltz, who has been named the National Security Adviser by President-elect Donald Trump. Highlighting the significance, Mr Waltz, who is the co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus, said ties between India and America will “determine whether this is a century of light or a century of darkness”.

The Congressman made these remarks at an event hosted by the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) at Stanford University for the INDUSUSX Summit in September. 

“The bottom line is, in my view, this (US-India) is the most important relationship of the 21st century. This will determine whether this is a century of light or a century of darkness,” Mr Waltz said in his video message to the summit, which he could not attend due to his engagements in the election.

He also encouraged further collaboration between the two countries to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific and protect India’s sovereignty, particularly along the Line of Control (LoC).

“Consider my office and my team an open door to further this relationship as we press forward, and keeping the Indo-Pacific free and open and protecting Indian sovereignty particularly on the Line of Control (LoC) and ensuring that the world that we leave behind for our children and grandchildren is in line with our shared values,” he said.

Mr Waltz further emphasised that he was excited about the enormous momentum in the partnership between the oldest and the largest democracies in the world. “Let’s keep the momentum (in the US-India relationship) going,” he said.

He noted that growing momentum in US-India relations is evident through initiatives like iCET and INDUS-X, and highlighted several areas of cooperation including joint production of the Apache helicopter fuselages by Boeing and Tata, advancements in ship repair, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and data management – all of which are crucial for both nations to advance in the 21st century. 

Mr Waltz visited India in August with his co-chair Congressman Ro Khanna to participate in the Independence Day celebrations. In his speech, the Congressman also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “incredible” address at the Red Fort, and called the Independence Day celebrations “an amazing event.”