Those involved in corruption, scams have come together: Anurag Thakur on Oppn parties' meeting

Union minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday hit out at the opposition parties over their recent conclave in Patna, and alleged that those involved in corruption and various scams have come together. He also said that over the last nine years, India has been progressing under the corruption-free and honest government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Sports and Youth Affairs was speaking to news channels in Nagpur ahead of his visit to Wardha for a programme. Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the Modi government over issues of employment and prices of essentials. In a tweet, he said, ”…Nine years it is the same question — after all, for whom is this ‘amrit kaal’?” Replying to Gandhi’s tweet, Thakur spoke about the opposition parties’ meeting in Bihar last week.

”Our (BJP-led government’s) alliance is not of those who are out on bail in corruption cases, where people involved in fodder scam, land-for-jobs scam, cash-for-jobs scam and those responsible for the collapse of Rs 1,700 crore-worth bridge have come together,” he said without naming anyone.

”Rahul Gandhi ji, India’s economy has risen to number 5 position from number 10 with honesty,” he added.

To a query on the ongoing debate going on over the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Thakur said the opposition parties may say whatever they want to. ”But we will unmask them before the people,” he said.

”They had termed the abrogation of Article 370 as wrong, the law against triple talaq as wrong and also construction of Ram temple as wrong. But people have brought them to such a position that they are now restricted to just 40 seats,” Thakur lashed out at the Congress. Addressing a gathering in Wardha, the minister continued to slam the grand old party. ”PM Narendra Modi has continuously said that for the BJP and the BJP-led government, the country and the interest of the country come first and the party comes second. But it is the other way round in the Congress because for that party, the Gandhi family comes first and the country last. This is the difference between Congress and BJP,” he said. He also criticised Shiv Sena (UBT) president and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, saying that he abandoned his father Bal Thackeray’s ideology and now he is ”nowhere”.

Thakur also praised the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government in the state for ”doing a good job”.