Modi invokes Bihari pride to attack Congress, RJD
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed rallies at Motihari and Maharajganj in Bihar on Tuesday as part of his Lok Sabha poll campaign.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the opposition INDIA bloc over controversial remarks on non-Punjabis made by senior Punjab Congress leader and MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira.
“They are insulting Bihar people. The Congress leader is close to the ‘royal family’. He says people from Bihar should be boycotted, divested of all rights in Punjab and should not be allowed to purchase house there, but the ‘royal family’ remains mum over it. Their mind is full of such hatred,” the PM said at Maharajganj where he campaigned for senior BJP leader Janardan Singh Sigriwal, who is seeking a third consecutive term in the Lok Sabha from the constituency and is pitted against Congress candidate Akash Kumar Singh, who is the son of Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh.
In neighbouring Siwan, JD-U’s Vijaylakshmi, a debutant, is locked in a triangular contest with RJD’s Awadh Bihari Choudhary, former Bihar assembly speaker, and Independent candidate Hena Shahab, wife of late Mohammed Shahabuddin, the strongman who had won Siwan seat four times.
Modi, addressed a rally at Motihari earlier in the day, said it was not only the Congress that was silent over insult of Biharis, but RJD too had turned a deaf ear to it, as they have nothing to do with Bihar’s pride and dignity. “It seems to have become a trend. DMK leaders did the same and then it happened in Telangana, but the lips of the ‘royal family’ remain sealed,” he said.
At Motihari, he sought votes for BJP’s sitting MPs Radha Mohan Singh (Purvi Champaran), Sanjay Jaiswal (Pashchim Champaran) and JD-U’s Lovely Anand (Sheohar) and Sunil Mahato (Valmiki Nagar). All the seats go to vote on May 25 in the sixth of the ongoing seven-phase parliamentary elections in the country.
Asking the people if they would cast even one vote for those who have insulted Bihar, Modi said they rather deserved punishment. “Give them such punishment that they are wiped out in every polling booth. The divisive politics of the Congress and the RJD would do no good to anyone. Congress has been wiped out in Bihar and so they are making such utterances in revenge and now it is the turn of RJD,” he said.
The PM said the opposition bloc stood for “three evils - communalism, casteism and dynastic politics and their entire effort was aimed at getting together to amass wealth through corrupt means and work solely for the progress of their sons and daughters”.
Referring to the RJD, he said for those who pushed Bihar backwards with ‘jungle Raj’, insecurity, corruption, poverty and migration of industries as well as people, Modi would always be an eyesore. “But I am for the service of the people and will serve with greater energy. I have heart to heart relation with the people and that is why they trust me. This is the land of Dr Rajendra Prasad and his likes, but the misdeeds of the Congress and the RJD tarnished it,” he added.
He also attacked Congress and RJD over the Ram Temple. “All of you must be happy and felt proud that the Ram Temple has been built, but they are sad. Now it is for you all to teach them a lesson for lifetime. Congress wants reservation based on religion. Had Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar not been there, Jawaharlal Nehru would have not given reservation to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe. They want to snatch the reservation for SC, ST and OBC and they could even change the Constitution for it. They can also try to bring back Articlr 370 in Jammu & Kashmir,” he said, listing out the achievements of his government for the poor.
At Motihari, he also had a jibe at RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, who had said that the PM would be on bed rest after June 4 results. He, however, did not take his name.
“Those who are born with a silver spoon do not know what poverty its all about. I have heard that someone here is saying that after June 4, Modi will be on bed rest. I pray to God that no citizen of the country, let alone Modi, has to take bed rest. But the , what else can one expect from the heir of Jungle Raj?,” he said.