In his second public meeting after Jamui, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 7 took a dig at INDIA (Indian National Development, Inclusive Alliance) bloc saying that the Congress manifesto had the imprint of the Muslim League.
At a rally in Nawada, he called them ‘anti-Sanathan’ and ‘corrupt’. He did not miss the opportunity to take a jibe at the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) by reminding the people about the ‘Jungle Raj’ in Bihar.
Also read: Lok Sabha elections live updates - April 7
Mr. Modi was addressing a rally in Nawada to seek votes in support of BJP candidate Vivek Thakur. Nawada is one of the four constituencies of Bihar which will go to the polls on April 19.
“Nawada has always given love and blessing to BJP and NDA,” Mr. Modi said.
While asserting that the entire country was saying ‘Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar’, he stressed on eradicating poverty from the country.
He also reminded the people about the RJD’s regime which he called ‘Jungle Raj’. “The people of Bihar and Nawada have spent long years in the era of Jungle Raj. There was a time in Bihar when our sisters and daughters were scared of walking on the roads. Due to the efforts of Nitish Kumar ji and Sushil Kumar Modi, Bihar came out of the regime of Jungle Raj,” Mr. Modi said.
Apart from Mr. Kumar several other leaders of the NDA were present on the stage which included Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader Santosh Kumar Suman and Rashtriya Lok Morcha leader Upendra Kushwaha, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and Union Ministers Giriraj Singh and Nitynand Rai.
Taking a dig at the Opposition leaders and the INDIA bloc, Mr. Modi said that he was there not to enjoy but to work more and more.
“Modi’s guarantee is troubling the leaders of Congress, the RJD and INDI alliance. INDI alliance leaders have termed my guarantee as a sin. They are saying that there should be a ban on Modi’s guarantee because it is illegal. Modi gives guarantee because my intention is right. INDI leaders have become arrogant and will not understand this. They consider themselves as the permanent rulers of India. Asking votes by telling lies during elections is the identity INDI of leaders,” Mr. Modi said.
Article 370
Attacking Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over his remark on Article 370, Mr. Modi said he had given the guarantee to withdraw 370 and implemented the constitution of Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Despite remaining in power for so many years, why did the Congress party fail to implement the constitution of Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar. I was ashamed after listening to the Congress national president who asked why I talked about Article 370 in Rajasthan. Kashmir is ours and many jawans from Bihar and Rajasthan have sacrificed their lives to protect Kashmir. These people belong to the ‘tukde-tukde’ (break-up) gang,” Mr. Modi said.
He said he had given a guarantee to construct a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and now it was fulfilled. The Congress and the RJD tried to stop its construction for many years, he said.
“INDI alliance means place of corrupt people and place of anti-national hate force. Look at their statement, they talk about eradicating Sanathan Dharma, they talk about one more division of the country. The manifesto which was released by Congress two days ago has the imprint of the Muslim League. The Congress has released an appeasement letter not the manifesto,” he charged.
He urged people not to vote for the INDIA alliance, “I want to remove corruption, they want to protect corruption. Congress and RJD don’t deserve your single vote. They only want power and corruption. They cannot live without power,” Mr. Modi said.
Referring to the wheat crisis in Pakistan, Mr. Modi said, “Jo log India ko anakh dekhate the, wo abb antte ke liye bhatak rahe hai (Those used to stare at India are now wandering for flour).”
Triangular contest likely
Although there is a direct fight between the NDA and the Grand Alliance in Nawada, the contest may be triangular. Apart from BJP’s Vivek Thakur and RJD’s Shravan Kushwaha, independent candidate Vinod Yadav is also being considered in the contest. He is the brother of Bahubali (strongman) leader Rajballabh Yadav.
While addressing the rally, Mr. Kumar claimed Mr. Thakur would secure victory by a huge margin. He also praised Mr. Modi saying that the Central government and the Prime Minister were giving a lot of support to Bihar.
Before the arrival of Mr. Modi, RJD leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav asked 10 questions to the Prime Minister related to alleged misuse of Central agencies and others.
