Samastipur/Chappra/Bagaha: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lashed out at the Congress-RJD alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections and dubbed it an “alliance of dynasts” who were only concerned about their own families.
“The opposition leaders are reminded of the ‘poor’ only during polls while they remain focused on their families at other times. Here, you are watching the crown prince of jungle raj. The Congress is also limited to one family only,” he said while addressing a rally in Samastipur in Bihar, his second of the four rallies for the day.
“What have these family-oriented parties working only for themselves given you? If big bungalows are being built, whom are they built for? If palaces are built, whom are they for? If a large number of vehicles worth crores of rupees have arrived, who gets them?”
“Today, if every assessment, every survey is claiming NDA victory, there is a strong reason for it. Our mothers and sisters are again helping to form another NDA government in Bihar,” the Prime Minister added.
During his speech, Modi repeatedly differentiated between what he called ‘jungle raj’ and ‘development’. He cautioned the people of Bihar against going back to the days of being ‘bimar’. “Will you bring back those who made Bihar ill?” he asked the audience in Samastipur.
“They have nothing to do with your development, but with only their own development. This is their truth, this is their way, this is their training,” Modi said while hitting out at the Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal-Left alliance.
He claimed that a vote for the opposition will mean return to chaos and uncertainty in Bihar.
“Every vote polled for National Democratic Alliance candidates, by which I mean the BJP, Janata Dal-United, Hindustani Awam Morcha, and Vikassheel Insaan Party, will save Bihar from getting sick again.”
Modi said that the BJP will set up 1,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) for Bihar’s farmers and create a better environment to attract investment in order to generate jobs.
He claimed that the Left parties, which are fighting elections as part of the Grand Alliance, have a “history of closing down factories”.
Modi also referred to former CM Karpoori Thakur and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel during his speech, alleging that top Congress leader failed to remember India’s ‘Iron Man’ on his birth anniversary on October 31.
He also referred to Samastipur as the land of martyr Aman Kumar, who made the supreme sacrifice in the violent clash between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in June.
Earleir addressing a rally in Chappra, While taking a dig at the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that a ‘double engine government’ was pitted against ‘two yuvrajs’ in the ongoing Bihar Assembly elections.
One of these ‘yuvrajs’ or princes is a ‘yuvraj of jungle raj’, Modi said.
“The second ‘yuvraj’ joined hands with a third ‘yuvraj’ in Uttar Pradesh, but the people rejected them. Now the second ‘yuvraj’ had come to Bihar to seek votes,” Modi added.
He was referring to Tejashwi Yadav, Rahul Gandhi, and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.
“Once again, there is an opportunity to defeat the yuvrajs. What happened to them in Uttar Pradesh is going to be repeated in Bihar as well,” the Prime Minister said.
He referred to a video clip doing the rounds on the social media, in which a woman was asked why she was voting for Modi. The Prime Minister said that the woman’s answer forced the entire opposition to go silent.
“She said ‘Modi gave ration, pension, electricity, and cooking gas. Should I still vote for you than him?'” the Prime Minister added.
He said that the daughters, women and other people in Bihar were putting the same question to the opposition. “It is because of the power of your vote that I head the government at the Centre and Nitish Kumar in Bihar. It is a double engine government on one side and two ‘yuvrajs’ on the other, including one of the jungle raj,” Modi said without naming anyone.
He claimed that the people’s love and bonding with the BJP had not been liked by political rivals and they had lost sleep.
“In desperation, they are abusing me. They can abuse me, but please don’t vent your anger on the public of Bihar,” he said.
Modi also pointed to the free ration the Centre had been providing to the poor during the coronavirus pandemic in Bihar.
Modi also asserted that the public response during the Assembly elections clearly indicated that the new government in the state will again be formed under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s leadership.
Referring to the first phase of Assembly elections in 71 Assembly constituencies on October 28, the Prime Minister said that “it is clear that the new Bihar government will be formed under Nitish’s leadership”.
He also said that a good public gathering in an early morning rally in Chhapra clearly indicated likewise.
“I can imagine the results of the Bihar elections after witnessing such a huge crowd in this rally. I have seen various election rallies in Bihar in the past. Some of the rallies were held close to the election dates. But such a gathering before 10 am in Bihar has not been seen ever. This is an extraordinary scene… people have cast their franchise in huge numbers,” Modi said.
Elections are slated to be held in three phases for the 243 Assembly seats in Bihar. The first phase of elections was held in Bihar on October 28. In the second phase, voting for 94 seats will be held on November 3. In the third phase, 78 seats will go to polls on November 7. Counting will take place on November 10.
After the the first rally in Chapra, the bastion of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad, the Prime Minister will address three more rallies in the poll-bound state.
Adressing his last rally of the day in Bagaha, Prime Minister Modi accused certain opposition parties of “scaremongering” on the issues of Citizenship (Amendment) Act and abolition of Article 370 of the Constitution, apart from the Ram Temple issue.
“When the CAA came, they (opposition) spread the lie that the citizenship of many people will be taken away. Today, about a year has passed. Has any Indian lost his citizenship? They have always proved their selfishness by just lying or scaremongering,” the Prime Minister at Bagha in Bihar’s West Champaran district to woo the voters ahead of the second phase of Bihar Assembly elections.
He said that the opposition similarly indulged in scaremongering over the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, while pointing out to alleged statements about “river of blood” in this connection.
“Today, with the cooperation of people in the entire country, a grand Ram temple is coming up in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. But, you must not forget those who were questioning the very existence of Lord Ram,” Modi said.
He also accused the opposition of “spreading the lie” that the National Democratic Alliance will abolish reservation for Scheudled Castes and Tribes. “But you know that our government has taken forward reservation for 10 more years,” he added.
He again brought up the issue of ‘jungle raj’ during the RJD rule, claiming that Bihar residents during those days used to scratch their new cars or refused to decorate houses on the outside due to fears of snatchings and looting.
“People themselves scratched new vehicles before exiting automobile showrooms. Quite often, they used to put a dent in their own car while it was still parked in the showrooms,” the Prime Minister claimed.
He said that people in the past had to cough up double the extortion amount demanded if they dared to complain about it to police.
The Prime Minister also talked about education of tribal youths, museums for tribal figures, among other issues. He specifically reached out to the Tharu community during his speech.
Modi urged the electorate to vote for NDA candidates in the second phase of the Bihar elections on November 3, apart from all Assembly bypolls in different states.