Muzaffarpur: Upping the ante on the main opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) without directly naming it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued his attack at Muzaffarpur, as he addressed his second rally of the day.
As Bihar votes for phase one, the PM warned the people of Muzaffarpur about the ‘Prince of Jungle Raj’ in an apparent reference to Tejashwi Yadav and the ‘kidnapping industry’ of the past.
He also played on the fear psychosis of the crowd by wondering about the fate of the Covid relief fund if a party known for lawlessness returned to power.
He went a step further to raise questions on the handling of funds meant for containing the pandemic. “You can imagine what will happen to the funds for Covid-19 if they come to power… What else can residents of Bihar expect from the ‘Yuvraj’ (prince) of ‘Jungle Raj’, given their past record?”
“Forget about providing government jobs, even the private companies will vanish (if they come)…They have the copyright on the kidnapping industry,” warned the PM as the crowd cheered.
Giving a glimpse of the lawlessness of the Lalu era to a younger generation who may not be aware of the realities of the time but have the right to vote now, PM Modi said, “The political party which is infamous for closing down industries of Bihar, from whom investors kept distance, is now promising development to the people of the state.”
This was a dig at RJD’s promise of creating 10 lakh jobs and taking it up in the first cabinet meeting itself.
Making a case for the BJP-JDU alliance, the Prime Minister told the crowd that it was Bihar’s opportunity to re-elect those who pulled the state out of darkness.
During the Muzaffarpur rally the Prime Minister also said that their votes will decide how quickly the goals of a self-reliant Bihar can be achieved. In earlier rallies, the PM has been pitching the idea of a self-reliant India via a self-reliant Bihar.
Later addressing a rally in Patna, Modi raked up Bihar’s past to project its future in his Patna rally. He said, the days of the lantern were over, referring to better electric supply, as part of his ‘vikas’ agenda; at a metaphoric level, it was also a political dig, given the main opposition RJD’s electoral symbol is a lantern.
“Atal ji(former Prime Minister) used to say that in Bihar in-bound supply of electricity is less while it vanishes more. The darkness of the lantern era is now over. Bihar’s aspirations now are of continued electricity supply, of LED bulbs,” said Modi sharing the stage with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the crowd cheered for the PM and chanted his name.
This is not the first time he used the phrase ‘era of lantern’. Earlier, at a rally in Sasaram, the PM, in what seemed to be an effort to introduce first-time voters of Bihar to a bygone era, had said, “The need for lanterns in today’s Bihar is over. Today every poor household in Bihar has an electricity connection, there is light.”
The strategy of PM’s speeches today has been simple – highlight Bihar’s past to question Bihar’s future.
“Who can fulfil the aspirations of the poor and the middle class of Bihar? Those who looted Bihar, can they do it? Those who single-handedly thought of their families and did injustice to everyone will never realise Bihar’s expectations. Only the NDA can do it,” said the PM.
It was a mix of resurrection of Bihar’s fear psychosis of a bygone era of absolute lawlessness, a promise of a better future and highlighting dynastic politics.
Making a comparison with the COVID precautions, he said, just like people of Bihar can save themselves from COVID-19 by wearing a mask, they can also “save Bihar” from becoming ‘bimar’ with a single vote.
It was not the first COVID reference of the day, though for the Prime Minister.