Amit Shah Interview | Lack of self-confidence, says Amit Shah on Congress's Amethi, Raebareli suspense

Union home minister Amit Shah

Union home minister Amit Shah has said that Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi do not even have the "self-confidence" to contest from their own ancestral seats amid continued suspense over the candidates for Amethi and Raebareli.

In an exclusive interview to Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, Shah took a jibe at Congress for not revealing its candidates for Amethi and Raebareli - the two Uttar Pradesh seats that are seen as the grand old party's bastions. The deadline to file the nomination will end on May 3.

Asked about speculations that Rahul and Priyanka may not contest, Shah said that "these people have lost their self-confidence".

"They don't have the self-confidence to fight even from their ancestral seat. If they didn't want to fight, why have they kept the decision on the seat pending for so long? If they had given it to a worker, at least he could have done some public outreach," he said, adding that the "confusion reflects the lack of self-confidence."

During the interview, Shah took several potshots at Rahul Gandhi, saying that he has brought down the level of politics in an unprecedented way since taking command of Congress.

Asked about Congress's claims that BJP government will change Constitution and alter OBC, SC, ST reservations if it wins over 400 seats, Shah said that "lying" is the one rule that Rahul follows.

"Rahul Gandhi has a rule - lie, lie loudly, lie repeatedly. And he is following that rule," he said.