Shah backstage hero, has stuck to duties without desire for credit: Rajnath Singh

India

pti-PTI

New
Delhi,
Aug
10:
Defence
Minister
Rajnath
Singh
on
Wednesday
described
Home
Minister
Amit
Shah
as
“nepathya
ke
nayak”
(backstage
hero)
who
has
worked
without
any
desire
for
credit
and
stuck
to
his
duties
despite
bittersweet
experiences
in
life.

Releasing
the
book
“Shabdansh”,
a
collection
of
Shah’s
speeches
on
a
variety
of
issues,
Singh
said
the
home
minister
combines
the
rare
mix
of
politics
and
spirituality
and
added
that
the
range
of
his
study
will
surprise
many
people.

“It
will
not
be
an
exaggeration
to
say
Shah
is
a
backstage
hero.
He
has
no
desire
for
credit.
He
remains
in
background
and
does
so
many
big
works
for
the
government
and
the
party
and
still
gets
time
to
study
so
much,”
the
senior
BJP
leader
said
about
his
colleague.

Shah’s
life
has
been
a
laboratory
and
had
its
share
of
bittersweet
memories,
Singh
said,
noting
that
the
Gujarat
leader
had
to
spend
several
months
in
jail,
a
reference
to
the
Sohrabuddin
Sheikh
fake
encounter
case
in
which
he
was
later
acquitted
by
the
court
of
all
charges.

Investigation
agencies
harassed
him
so
much,
he
said,
noting
that
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi,
then
chief
minister
of
Gujarat,
was
also
targeted,
a
reference
to
the
Gujarat
riots
case
in
which
the
SIT
gave
him
the
clean
chit
later.

Shah
had
faith
that
truth
will
come
out
and
it
did,
he
added.
“Shah
went
wherever
probe
agencies
summoned
him
and
never
raised
a
hue
and
cry
or
launched
an
agitation,”
Singh
said,
in
an
apparent
swipe
at
the
Congress
for
its
protests
over
the
questioning
of
its
leaders
Sonia
Gandhi
and
Rahul
Gandhi
by
the
Enforcement
Directorate
in
the
National
Herald
case.

The
Congress-led
United
Progressive
Alliance
(UPA)
was
in
power
when
the
two
BJP
leaders
were
investigated
by
federal
agencies.
Singh
said,
“Every
challenge
made
him
(Shah)
stronger.
Without
being
concerned
about
acclaim
or
ignominy,
he
walked
the
path
of
his
duties.
Rarely
do
we
get
an
amalgamation
of
politics
and
spirituality
but
it
is
in
him.”

Politics
is
meant
to
put
the
society
on
the
right
path
but
the
term
has
lost
its
meaning
and
people
look
at
it
and
politicians
in
a
negative
light,
he
said,
adding
that
Shah
is
working
to
restore
its
true
goal.

Singh
said
there
can
be
no
happier
experience
for
him
than
releasing
the
book
of
an
“anuj”
(younger
brother)
and
urged
people
to
read
it,
saying
it
is
a
significant
collection
of
his
speeches
on
a
range
of
subjects
from
spiritual
and
historical
personalities
to
Article
370
and
triple
talaq
besides
Modi.

Shah
is
younger
to
Singh
(71)
by
14
years.
Singh
said
Shah’s
speeches
in
Parliament
on
Article
370
and
triple
talaq
were
“wonderful”
and
even
opposition
members
acknowledged
that,
though
they
may
not
admit
it
publicly,
he
said.

This
book,
edited
by
Shivanand
Dwivedi
and
published
by
Rupa,
will
work
as
a
“lighthouse”
for
the
coming
generations,
Singh
said.
It
is
a
document
of
changing
India
and
is
supported
with
appropriate
contexts,
he
said.

It
describes
the
journey
of
the
struggles
of
the
country
after
independence,
highlights
its
current
aspirations
and
carries
its
dream
for
the
future
as
well,
he
added.
Shah
does
not
speak
much
and
may
appear
to
be
stern,
he
said,
noting
that
such
people
are
often
misinterpreted.
Singh
stressed
that
when
the
home
minister
talks,
he
makes
a
positive
contribution.

Even
on
complex
issues,
he
puts
across
his
views
in
a
simple
manner
and
that
is
the
reason
people
understand
and
like
what
he
says,
the
defence
minister
said.
His
speeches
carried
in
the
book
will
answer
the
readers’ questions
about
a
host
of
issues,
including
policy-making
and
governance,
about
the
country.