‘His political career launched 13 times': Amit Shah’s sharp dig at Rahul Gandhi in Parliament

Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaking in the Lok Sabha on the Opposition’s no-confidence motion on Wednesday, took a sharp jab at Rahul Gandhi and reminded the Lower House about the Congress MP’s 2008 visit to the residence of a widow– Kalavati Bandurkar – in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha district.

“There is a leader in this House whose political career has been launched 13 times till now. And all 13 attempts have failed. I have seen one of the launches in this House. This leader visited the home of a less-fortunate woman, Kalavati, and had a meal at her home. He then spoke about poverty and her hardships in the House. Their government was in power for six years after this. I want to ask, what did you do for her? The Modi government gave her a house, electricity, gas, ration, and toilet,” Shah pointed out.

Kalavati shot to fame in 2008 when Rahul Gandhi mentioned her in his Parliament speech. Her husband, a farmer, died by suicide in 2005 unable to repay his loans. She had been living at her village home without electricity all her life, he said, and shared her story as an example of how India’s nuclear deal with America would help deliver power to rural India.

The home minister was speaking on the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against the BJP-ruled government at the Centre over the rampant violence in Manipur. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, the home minister asserted that it is the Opposition that does not have confidence in the government and not the people of the country.

He also questioned the character of the Opposition, saying its true face was unveiled when it indulged in corruption to save its governments in the past, when it was in power.