Arrah: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed that the Congress had been unwilling to accept Tejashwi Yadav as the INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial candidate and relented only after the RJD pointed a “katta”, an unlicensed country-made gun, at its head.
The PM made the statement on the campaign trail in Bihar, where he addressed back-to-back rallies in Bhojpur and Nawada districts, and highlighted the RJD’s reputation for alleged strong-arm tactics and its troubled equations with alliance partners.
“The Congress never wanted to announce the chief ministerial candidate in favour of the RJD. The RJD secured it by placing a ‘katta’ on the head of the Congress. They have learnt their lessons in the school of ‘jungle raj’. Such elements can never do good for Bihar,” he alleged.
Modi said Congress wanted to defeat the RJD in the Bihar polls, and urged people to wait for the second phase of polling to be over on November 11 “to see them fighting”.
Without mentioning Congress leader Rahul Gandhi or Yadav by name, the PM said, “The crown prince of ‘jungle raj’ has been wary that the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ of the other ‘yuvraaj’ may be denting his own prospects. Hence, the RJD has put up its candidate against the state president of the Congress. Let the polls be over. The two allies will be breaking each other’s heads.”
The allusion was to the reserved Kutumba seat, where the RJD had reportedly planned to field a candidate against sitting MLA and state Congress president Rajesh Kumar. Although the RJD decided against doing so, the two allies have ended up in “friendly fights” at a number of places.
The PM also predicted a “record victory” for the ruling NDA, which would continue providing a government that was “upright” and “foresighted” and build a “developed Bihar” that was necessary for “Viksit Bharat”.
“‘Jungle raj wallahs’ are set to get the worst drubbing in history. The people of Bihar have not forgotten the ‘jungle raj’,” he added.
The PM, who was visibly pleased with the huge turnouts, said, “Analysts sitting in Delhi, who are racking their brains over poll arithmetic, would do well to come here and experience for themselves which way the wind is blowing”.
Modi said the manifesto released by the NDA last week was honest and put forth a vision for the future, unlike the charter of promises of the INDIA bloc, which was “a dossier of lies”.
He also envisaged a future in which people of the state will not migrate under economic compulsions and “the youth of Bihar will work in Bihar and make their motherland proud”.
Listing the achievements of the NDA government in the state, he said, “The condition of power connectivity was such that people used to dry clothes on electrical wires, but we changed it.”
“Modi also helped open bank accounts for small farmers who have been ignored since Independence,” he said.
Noting that Bhojpur and adjoining districts were known for providing a large number of recruits in the armed forces, he said national security and those who ensure it are of paramount importance to his government.
“One rank one pension (OROP) has resulted in the disbursement of Rs 1 lakh crore, which is benefitting families of servicemen,” he said.
The PM said it was “Modi’s guarantee” that Article 370 would be scrapped, and it has been, with the Constitution of India now in force in Jammu and Kashmir.
“We had vowed to beat the terrorists on their home turf. And we fulfilled that promise again with Operation Sindoor, which has made the nation proud,” he said.
Training his guns at the opposition, Modi alleged, “When terror hideouts in Pakistan were being bombed, the royal family of Congress was losing sleep. Pakistan and the Congress have still not recovered from the shock of Operation Sindoor.”
He alleged that the RJD and Congress care about “just two families — one most corrupt in Bihar and another most corrupt in the country”.
Raking up the riots that broke out in the wake of the assassination of the then PM Indira Gandhi, Modi said, “It was around the same time of the year in 1984, on November 1-2, when Sikhs were massacred in Delhi. Those who were guilty are being promoted by the party. The Congress has been unapologetic about the carnage.”
Indirectly referring to the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’, the PM alleged it was aimed to protect infiltrators (ghuspaithiye) who must be driven out lest they capture the resources meant for the people of Bihar.
“The ‘jungle raj wallahs’ have very dangerous intentions. Be aware of them,” said Modi, adding a proverb in Bhojpuri, a rough translation of which is “the one responsible for destroying the field is now claiming to sow fresh seeds”.
The PM, who has been pointing out region-specific incidents that happened during the RJD regime, recalled the abduction of a doctor in Tarari, near Arrah, two decades ago, and the Naxal insurgency that took its toll on Dalmia Nagar, a once bustling industrial town in the adjoining district of Rohtas.
“A person would get concerned if his salary increased during ‘jungle raj’ as he had to give more ‘rangdari’ (extortion) to the RJD,” he alleged.
Modi also disclosed that the NDA was planning to develop the birthplace of Veer Kunwar Singh, the ruler of the erstwhile princely estate of Jagdishpur, who was one of the heroes of the Revolt of 1857, asserting that “we believe in development while protecting cultural heritage”.
“But Congress RJD are known for being disdainful towards our heritage. They berated the Maha Kumbh held at Prayagraj. Recently, the Congress ‘naamdaar’ (Gandhi) made fun of Chhath Puja. These people must be taught a lesson. I would urge those who have returned home for Chhath Puja to stay back to vote in this election,” he said.
In Nawada, once a Maoist-infested district, the PM said ultra-Left insurgency was destroyed by the NDA, but urged the people to be on guard against “urban naxals”, who sympathise with the ideology while leading comfortable lives in cities.
