Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the BJP will form a government again in Karnataka, where Assembly elections are scheduled next month.
Addressing a public meeting in south Goa where he kicked off the Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign for 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Shah said the mood of people is in favour of BJP in Odisha and Telangana.
He referred to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's remarks on BJP's victory in "small states" of Goa and Uttarakhand earlier and said Kharge shouldn't insult small states. Shah also said Congress was wiped out in recent polls in the Northeast after Rahul Gandhi campaigned for the party.
He said the Congress always considered Northeastern states as their stronghold due to a sizeable minority population in these states, but the outcome of recent polls favoured BJP.
"I saw the mood of people in favour of BJP in Odisha and Telangana. I want to tell Kharge ji and Rahul baba that the BJP will form a government in Karnataka again," he added.
Shah said when BJP won elections in small states like Goa, Uttarakhand, and in the Northeast, Kharge said these are small states.
"They are small states but they are important states of the country. Khargeji should not insult small states," Shah added.
He said small states are important parts of the country and it is the policy of the Modi government to have a "bigger responsibility towards small states".
"Small states are the 'dharohar' of our country and they are as much important as big states. The smaller the state, the bigger the responsibility of the Centre to work for its development. This is the policy of the Modi government," Shah said.
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, Shah said after 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', Rahul Gandhi undertook a full-fledged campaign in the Northeast elections, but the Congress party was wiped out from these states and people gave their mandate in favour of the BJP.
He said BJP has won a full majority in Tripura elections while 13 MLAs of the saffron party were elected in Nagaland. "The government in Meghalaya was formed with the support of BJP," the home minister added.
Shah said the people of the Northeast have given a clear message that this country should be ruled by a party which can provide security, peace and development to the people.
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