As the country begins to reopen after over two months of the Covid-19-induced lockdown, Union Home Minister Amit Shah exclusively spoke with Network18 Editor-in-chief Rahul Joshi on CNBC-TV18. He spoke on various topics ranging from Unlock 1 to the completion of one year of Modi government’s second-term, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s victory in Lok Sabha Polls 2019.

• 31 Cr Bank Accounts Opened Under Jan Dhan Yojana: Home Minister Amit Shah talks on Modi government’s completion of one-year of its second term. He says, the Modi 1.0 and Modi 2.0 are not different from each other. The government has opened 31 crore bank accounts under the Jan Dhan Yojana. Modi government has improved the standard of living of the people, who did not get any benefit in the past 60 years before PM Modi came into power.
• 31 crore deprived people got the benefit of Direct Bank Transfer (DBT) in their bank accounts. The middlemen system has been finished and the poor are receiving direct benefits from the government.
• 50 Cr People Benefitted from Ayushman Bharat | 50 crore people have benefited from the Ayushman Bharat scheme which has been introduced by the Modi government: Amit Shah. 25 crore people were given houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, efforts are on to give the remaining 5 crore houses.
• The borders of the country were made stronger through surgical strikes, which proved our abilities to the world. A lot of economic reforms have been introduced by the government, especially in Ease of Doing Business. The dream of one and a half times MSP came true for the poor farmers. The Modi government worked to give 10% reservation to poor upper castes and for the first time after Independence, it gave constitutional rights to the backward class.
• Abrogation of Ar 370 Was in Demand for Long: Amit Shah | The people of the country have been demanding the abolition of Article 370 for a long time and the Modi government ensured it, so that Kashmir would have direct connection with the country. Modi government also brought Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in action so that people can be given shelter in India from the harassment they face.
• Modi Govt’s Biggest Achievement is its Fight Against Covid-19: Shah | Our biggest achievement is the successful fight against Covid-19. Apart from only the government, for the first time 130 crore people are fighting this pandemic under the leadership of PM Modi, says Home Minister.
• India Better Than Other Countries in Fighting Covid-19: Shah | Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, India is a better position in comparison to the rest of the world in fight against coronavirus. Till now, 12.6 per lakh people in the country have been affected by Covid19, which is far better than US, Brazil and other countries. India’s recovery rate in is above 42%, according to the latest data.
• In response to the ongoing migrant crisis in the country, Home Minister Amit Shah says, had migrant laborer’s been sent to the respective states before the lockdown, it would have posed a huge problem on the state governments as they did not have sufficient testing/quarantine facilities at that time. We wanted to first strengthen the healthcare system in states before sending the migrant workers, he said.
• 55 Lakh Migrant Ferried Till Now: Amit Shah | The Modi government has arranged buses and trains for the migrants and till now, 55 lakh migrants have been sent to their native states. The Railways has helped migrants in returning home – most of whom have now completed their quarantine period and started living with their families.
• Special trains were started from May 1, but before that on April 20, the government started sending laborers from nearby areas to their states. 41 lakh laborers were sent by bus service. About 4,000 trains were run for migrants, however, some of the laborers lost patience and started walking towards their states so we took many people to the nearest railway station or their native district: Amit Shah.
• The Modi government and Indian Railways raised all the expenses and during this time, two crore people were fed food. Apart from this, the states were given Rs 500 to Rs 2,000 for the train tickets of these migrants.
• Rahul Gandhi is Walking Around Without a Plan: Amit Shah | Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is walking around with a plan. He had floated the Nyay scheme during elections, to deposit money in everyone’s account, but people had rejected it a year ago.
• Atma Nirbhar Bharat Package Will Help Revive Economy: Shah | Speaking on the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the home minister says, it will set the economy on track. Every Indian must use local goods and support PM Modi’s call for ‘Vocal for Local’. Modi government’s Vocal for Local will not reduce foreign investments. We are confident that this will give a new impetus to our economy. God also supports those who work with hope and strategy: Home Minister Amit Shah.
• Will Not Take LAC Issue With China Lightly: Amit Shah | On the ongoing tension with China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Home Minister Amit Shah says, we will not take the issue lightly. The Modi government will not compromise on the issue and it is being dealt with both militarily and diplomatically. On the Tablighi Jamaat incident, the Home Minister says, right now our priority is the fight against coronavirus. The government will not spare anyone who breaks the law.
• Scindia’s Resignation Was Due to Lack of Respect Within Congress: Amit Shah | On Jyotiraditya Scindia and the Madhya Pradesh political turmoil, Home Minister Amit Shah says, the rebellion happened due to lack of respect for leadership within the Congress. It was the responsibility of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi
• BJP Will Form Next Govt in Bengal With Full Majority: Shah | On Mamta Banerjee’s statement, Home Minister Amit Shah says, if Mamata wishes that the BJP runs the government in West Bengal, it will fulfill its wish soon. The BJP will form the next government in the state with full majority, says Shah.
• Amit Shah on Maharashtra: We did not try to destabilize the government anywhere, especially in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are standing with the Maharashtra government in its fight against coronavirus.
• Amit Shah on Kashmir Issue: Talking about the situation in Kashmir, Home Minister Amit Shah says the condition of Kashmir is absolutely fine. The Narendra Modi government has worked to prevent Kashmiri children from going towards extremism. Our commitment is that PoK is a part of India.
• A confusion has been created among the people that the citizenship of people is going to go away through the implementation of CAA. I said it in a press conference that we will bring NRC, however, now we will consider it after clearing the confusion on CAA first, says Shah. Strict action will be taken against those who instigated the Delhi riots and those who plotted it. In all the riots so far, the most drastic steps will be taken in this riot. Even if a famous man is responsible for the riots, steps will be taken against him.