Targeting Rahul Gandhi over his frequent trips abroad, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday advised the Leader of Opposition (LoP) that the Congress will never be able to gain power in India by defaming the country on international platforms.
Shah said Gandhi keeps defaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose leadership is being hailed by the entire world. However, this would never benefit him, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said, even as he asserted that the Congress MP would never listen to his advise.
"If you want power, stop your foreign trips and start visiting the villages of India; then perhaps your turn might come someday," said Shah, addressing an event in Pune, Maharashtra. "You certainly won't listen, so I want to tell the Congress workers that if you keep following him in this direction, your turn will not come for 30 years.
Taking a dig at Congress over the Bharat Summit 2026 in Hyderabad where an Italian politician targeted PM Modi over alleged 'vote chori', the union minister said the Congress is venting the frustration of losing for three consecutive Lok Sabha elections. Thus, it invited those propagate leftist ideology from across India and abroad at the event, he said.
Shah said the event was named Bharat Summit but Gandhi keeps defaming the country across the world by expressing anti-India views at international conferences. He said people must make Congress realise that winning or losing elections depend on the performance of a party's leaders.
"You were given a chance for 10 years, and you committed scams and corruption worth Rs 12 lakh crore. The people of the country held you by the hand and threw you out of the government in Delhi, making Narendra Modi ji the Prime Minister. In 12 years, not even a single allegation of corruption worth even four annas has been levelled against Narendra Modi ji," he said.
In his address, Shah also extended greetings to people over Chhath Puja and also paid tribute to Birsa Munda over his 151st birth anniversary. He said Birsa Munda's birth anniversary is celebrated as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas to remember his legacy and honour his sacrifice.
"Today is also the 151st birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda. Even before the freedom movement, far away from here, on the land of Jharkhand, Bhagwan Birsa Munda ignited the flame of freedom against the British," he said.