Sagar, Nov 16 (PTI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Friday said the Congress did not care about the nation's security when it "ruled India for 70 years", adding securing the borders was a major achievement of the Modi-led government.

Addressing a poll rally, Shah credited the Modi government with giving impetus to boosting the country's security.

"When the Congress was in power and Manmohan Singh was the prime minister, Pakistani terrorists used to infiltrate, explode bombs and go back," he said.

"There was anger across the country after the 2016 Uri attack in which 18 Indian soldiers were killed. But this was not the regime of Mauni Baba (Manmohan Singh). Modi ji ordered our jawans to conduct surgical strikes and take revenge," Shah said.

"The Congress did not care about the country's security for 70 years when it was in power, but bothered only about their vote banks. For us, security is more precious than our own lives," he said.

Shah said the difference between the BJP and the Congress is that if one wants to become the prime minister or the president of the Congress, "they have to take birth in the Nehru-Gandhi family while in the BJP, one can rise to the top based on abilities even after being born in a poor family".

"An example of this is Narendra Modi, who was born in a tea seller's family but is now the prime minister. Shivraj Singh (Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan), who took birth in a poor family of farmers, is working from the last 15 years to develop Madhya Pradesh," he said.

"One does not need to have a family to work and go ahead in the BJP. What is needed is the ability and resolve to serve people," he said.

Shah sought to know who was the "senapati" (army chief) of the opposition party in Madhya Pradesh poll arena. There is only a Raja (Digvijay Singh), a maharaja (Jyotiraditya Scindia), and an industrialist (Kamal Nath) and the Congress is fighting polls on their strength," he said.

"Congress had left Madhya Pradesh as one of the most backward states but I can proudly say today that Shivraj Singh has made it into a developed state," he said.

"The 'Maharaja' (Scindia) asks what has Modi done for Madhya Pradesh, but does not know how much has the state changed. This is because he does not step out of his palace in Gwalior," Shah said.

"He (Scindia) does not know what benefits the poor farmers received. I want to ask the Congress president, what did he give Madhya Pradesh for 10 years when the UPA was in power at the Centre," Shah said.

The 13th Finance Commission under the UPA regime gave the state 1,34,190 crore, but the 14th Finance Commission, under the Modi government allocated it Rs 3,44,126 crore, the BJP chief said.