On Lok Sabha elections, BJP's position on Adani and G20: Amit Shah's top excerpts

Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday spoke to news agency ANI ahead of elections in three states - Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland - and expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party will win all three. Shah also said the BJP would win next year's general election as the party has 'no competition'. In the interview Shah praised prime minister Narendra Modi and declared the people of India were united in their support of him. Shah also slammed the opposition over claims the BJP uses central investigative agencies to target rivals and spoke on the BBC documentary about the PM and the Adani financial crisis. The union minister also spoke about India assuming the presidency of the elite G-20 group.

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Top excerpts from Amit Shah's ANI interview:

- Shah took a swipe at the Congress and rival leader Rahul Gandhi, declaring India's voters would decide the 'principal opposition to the BJP' in 2024. He also expressed confidence in the BJP's performance in this month's elections (Tripura, Meghalaya, and Nagaland) as well as those due later this year in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh.

- On the Congress' allegations that the BJP favours Gautam Adani - who is from prime minister Modi's home state of Gujarat - and his conglomerate, Shah said, "There is nothing to hide or be afraid of." The remarks come after controversy over a United States-based short-seller's report that accused Adani of 'brazen' financial fraud, causing the Adani Group a loss over $120bn as share prices plunged. The opposition has targeted the government over claims of exposure of public financial bodies like the LIC and SBI, and demanded a probe.

- Shah also referred to the government holding around 200 meetings across 32 industrial and service sectors during its presidency of the G-20, an elite global bloc. The home minister credited Modi for the meetings, saying, "The way the prime minister organised the event... the whole world is watching with surprise. Other counties have not been able to take G-20 meetings outside four-five cities but we have given a chance to every state..."

- Shah also claimed the ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) was in the 'national interest' because the organisation promoted 'radicalism and religious bigotry', and had attempted to prepare 'raw material for terrorism'. "... rising above vote-bank politics... the government successfully banned PFI... " he said.

- The senior BJP leader also spoke on restoring Jammu and Kashmir's statehood and indicated this could take some more time, despite an improvement in the region's security situation. Shah suggested this could happen after the (now) union territory holds an Assembly election; he did not specify a date for this, saying the Election Commission would take this call.

- On the BJP's chances in Tripura - where it is aiming to hold on to power - Shah said, "You will see that the BJP would have crossed the majority mark before 12 pm on counting day." Tripura is the first of the three north-eastern states that will vote this year.