April 17, 2026 08:07 am (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
Bengal SIR: Supreme Court allows voters restored by tribunal till April 21 and 27 to vote | 'Women won't spare you': PM Modi warns Opposition over resistance to quota bill | Vijay booked in 3 cases over poll code violation ahead of Tamil Nadu polls | 'Black law': Stalin burns copy of 'delimitation' bill, slams Modi govt | TCS halts Nashik BPO operations amid sexual abuse, conversion allegations | ‘We are surprised’: SC stays Pawan Khera’s bail over remarks on Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife | Historic shift: Bihar gets first BJP CM as Samrat Choudhary takes oath | 'ECI deviated from Bihar procedure': Supreme Court raises concerns over voter deletion in Bengal SIR | Noida workers’ protest turns violent: Stones pelted, vehicles damaged over wage hike demand | Oil prices jump above $103 a barrel as US moves to block Iran-linked shipping
Puducherry Assembly Elections

'You were on leave Rahul Bhaiya': Amit Shah mocks Rahul Gandhi over fisheries ministry row

| @indiablooms | Feb 28, 2021, at 10:51 pm

Puducherry/IBNS: Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah is the latest Congress adversary to take a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, who had recently said if his party comes to power, he will create a ministry dedicated to fishermen of India, oblivious to the fact that it had been set up two years ago.

"A few days ago, Rahul Gandhi had questioned here why the Modi government had not set up a fisheries ministry. Narendra Modiji has already formed a separate ministry for fishermen. Rahul bhaiya ... you were on leave, so you are not aware...," Shah said in Karaikal while campaigning for Puducherry election..

"I want to ask people whether they want a leader who has no idea that the department of fisheries has been in existence for two years," Shah added.

He further questioned how a leader who had been in Parliament for four terms doesn't know that a "fisheries ministry" had been set up in 2019.

Shah's barb at Rahul apparently referred to his frequent trips abroad, which  provide BJP with ammunition to attack him.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his surprise over Rahul Gandhi's lack of awareness despite being a lawmaker.

The ministry of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying says, "The Department of Fisheries is one of the two Departments under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying. It came into existence with effect from 05.02.2019 through carving out Fishery Division from the erstwhile Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries vide Cabinet Secretariat’s Notification F.No.1/21/21/2018-Cab dated 05.02.2019."

Union minister Amit Shah at his public rally in Puducherry underscored the various steps implemented by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for the benefit of the fishermen community. He said that the Centre has allocated Rs 20,000 crore in the budget to upgrade the fisheries infrastructure in the country. "Puducherry will benefit the most from this scheme," Shah said.

During his visit to Puducherry, Rahul Gandhi had said:  "If the farmers of the land can have a ministry at the Centre then why the farmers of the sea cannot have a ministry in Delhi?"

Union minister Griraj singh tweeted in Italian to remind Rahul Gandhi that the ministry had been already established.

On Friday, responding to the PM, Rahul Gandhi clarified his demand for a ministry of fisheries. "Dear PM, Fisherfolk need an independent and dedicated ministry of fisheries, not just a department within a ministry," he tweeted.

Elections in Puducherry will be held along with four states--West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.