Former MHA Under Secy RVS Mani thanks PM Modi for being conferred with Padma Shri, slams Congress

Speaking to ANI, RVS Mani slammed the Congress-led UPA, claiming a "conspiracy" and a plan to arrest PM Modi and Amit Shah, when they held the posts of Chief Minister of Gujarat and Home Minister, respectively.

RVS Mani said, "I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. This is a very emotional moment for me."

Slamming the Congress, the former Under Secretary in the Home Ministry, said that he did not sign the document allowing the arrest of then Gujarat CM Modi.

"PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were the Chief Minister of Gujarat and Home Minister of Gujarat, respectively, and there was a proposal to arrest them; there was a proper plan and blueprint for it. If I had signed it, today the fate of this country would have been different. PM Modi has taken the nation forward in the past 10-11 years. PM Modi is working hard to ensure the nation's development. We are proud that Narendra Modi is our Prime Minister. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also very intelligent. There was a conspiracy behind it; due to the blessings of the Almighty, I was able to play a role in stopping it," he alleged.

Further, RVS Mani alleged that the UPA government "tried to ignore the inputs" by the intelligence agencies.

"I wouldn't have been able to do anything without our intelligence agencies. The UPA government tried its best to ignore the input, but I didn't accept it. I believe these intelligence agencies are among the best in the world. Ignoring them would be an insult to them, which is why I stood by them. All the decisions I made, and the stands I took, were based on intelligence. I offer my deepest respect and gratitude to all our intelligence agencies, and especially to some of my colleagues.

"Though I am not in a position of power today, there was a conspiracy at that time to portray Hindus as terrorists. In the 1970s, the then-government hatched a conspiracy to turn Sikhs into militants, the consequences of which are still dire today. This government has brought peace to the Northeast, and Naxalism has been eliminated. Punjab remains a somewhat troubled area, but I believe that by 2027-28, this problem will also be resolved," he claimed.

RVS Mani has been a vocal critic of the UPA government and has authored the books, 'Hindu Terror: Insider account of Ministry of Home Affairs 2006-2010' and 'Deception: A Family That Deceived the Whole Nation'.

While Mani has been conferred with Padma Shri, in line with Republic Day celebrations, the President has approved the conferment of 131 Padma Awards, comprising five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri. Nineteen of the awardees are women, while the list also includes six persons from the categories of Foreign Nationals, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), along with 16 awardees honoured posthumously.

The Centre has announced Padma Vibhusan for Dharmendra Singh Deol (Posthumous) in Arts, KT Thomas in Public Affairs, N Rajam in Arts, P Narayanan in Literature and Education and VS Achuthanandhan (Posthumous) in Public Affairs. Padma Bhusan is conferred to Alka Yagnik in Art, Bhagat Singh Koshyari in Public Affairs, Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy in Medicine, Mammootty in Art, Nori Dattatreyudu in Medicine, Piyush Pandey (Posthumous) in Art, S K M Maeilanandhan in Social Work, Shatavadhani R Ganesh in Art, Shibu Soren (Posthumous) in Public Affairs, Uday Kotak in Trade & Industry, V K Malhotra (Posthumous) in Public Affairs, Vellappally Natesan in Public Affairs and Vijay Amritraj in Sports. (ANI)