Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ended “appeasement politics” and slammed the Congress over several issues. Shah, who was speaking at an election rally in support of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Ahmedabad, said that the BJP has established the rule of law in Gujarat during its 27-year-rule.

After the rally, Shah and Patel, who is the BJP’s candidate from Ghatlodia, led a roadshow up to the Sola area where Patel submitted his nomination papers. The Ghatlodia assembly segment is part of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, of which Amit Shah is the MP. Shah’s support for Patel comes just days after the Home minister said in an interview that the incumbent CM would continue on his post if the BJP returns to power.

Today, Shah termed Patel as the “future CM” of Gujarat, and appealed to the electorate to vote for him. In the 2017 Gujarat elections, Patel was elected from Ghatlodia with a huge margin of 1.17 lakh votes.

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Gujarat is scheduled to go for polls in two phases, December 1 and 5, and counting of votes will be undertaken on December 8. The BJP is eyeing a seventh straight term in the state, which is all set to see a triangular contest between the Congress, BJP and debutante Aam Aadmi Party.

“People of Gujarat had seen the days when communal riots were common, especially between 1985 and 1995 (under non-BJP governments). Curfew remained imposed for 250 days out of 365 days (a year). Women used to pray for their family members whenever they used to visit the walled city areas,” Shah said, as quoted by PTI.

“All the Latifs and Ijju Shaikhs (two criminals from Gujarat) were already eliminated. Today, 20-year-old youths do not even know what curfew is like. We eliminated the appeasement-based politics and established the rule of law in Gujarat,” the Gandhinagar MP added.

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Shah alleged the Congress used to mock the saffron party and its cadre over the construction of the Ayodhya Ram temple, and asked former Congress president Rahul Gandhi to visit the temple once it is made.

“Earlier, Congress used to taunt us saying when the temple will be built. Now, when the temple is getting ready for its inauguration in January 2024, Rahul Baba can visit the temple. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has solved this 550-year-old dispute peacefully,” he said.

Shah also praised the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the abrogation of Article 370 and bringing a law banning the practice of triple talaq.