“Had Mandate To Change Constitution In Last 10 Years, But Never Did”: Amit Shah

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 17th May. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has refuted the Opposition’s accusations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) intends to secure more than 400 Lok Sabha seats to amend the Constitution. In an interview with ANI, Shah emphasized that the BJP has had the mandate to alter the Constitution for the past decade but has not done so.

“We have had the mandate to change the Constitution for the last 10 years, but we never did that. What do you think Rahul Baba and company would say, and the country will believe it? This country has given us a clear mandate, and the people of this country already know that Modi ji already had sufficient majority to change the Constitution, but we never did that,” Shah stated.

Shah explained that the BJP’s goal of winning 400 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections is aimed at bringing stability to the political landscape of the country. “Yes, we want to win 400 seats in the LS polls to bring stability to politics in the country. We want 400 seats to protect our borders, to make India the third-largest economy in the world, and to ensure that a few poor people who are yet to get the benefits, and we have to fulfill it. We want 400 seats because clean water is yet to reach every household, and there is a lot of work to be done in the field of natural farming in this country. We want 400 seats because we want to provide free treatment of up to ₹5 lakh to every senior citizen aged above 70 years of age,” he elaborated.

Shah’s comments came in response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claims that the BJP has allegedly promised to uproot the Constitution if they win the elections. Addressing a rally in Odisha’s Balangir on May 15, Gandhi had said, “For the first time, a political party has said that if they come to power, they will be destroying the Constitution. This Constitution gave rights to the poor, backward, Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, farmers, and laborers of India. And today, big leaders of the BJP say that if they win the elections, they will uproot this book.”

Highlighting the BJP’s track record, Shah pointed to the abrogation of Article 370, the removal of Triple Talaq, and the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya as examples of fulfilling their promises. “We have abrogated Article 370, removed Triple Talaq, and taken up the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. We brought the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) with the help of the mandate in the last ten years of our governance,” he said.

When questioned about the slogan ‘400 Paar’ implying the need for significant changes, Shah downplayed its significance. “There’s not much difference between 400 Paar and 272, and that the BJP simply seeks expansion. We never needed 400 seats for a big step; we can do it now. Won’t anyone try to expand their work; won’t the BJP expand itself?” he remarked.

Shah also criticized the historical misuse of majority by the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government, contrasting it with the BJP’s record. “See, the history of misuse of majority is not of my party, but the history of misuse of majority during Indira Gandhi’s time was done by the Congress. They changed the article, Lok Sabha was extended, an emergency was imposed, and 1.5 lakh people were sent to jail for 19 months without any reason. We never misused it, and no one takes Rahul Baba seriously.”

Exuding confidence in securing a full majority in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Shah asserted that the Indian public supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a stable government. “These people want an unstable government. The public has seen what a stable government can do for the country. The youth of the country have suffered the pain of unstable governments for 30 years. Modi ji’s stable government came for two terms and now in the third term, a more stable government will be formed, so the people of the country are with this goal of Modi ji,” he concluded.