SASARAM/AURANGABAD, Oct 9:
Raising the ‘Jungle Raj’ pitch, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today warned that Lalu Prasad will “remote control” the affairs in Bihar and “kidnapping” will be the only industry that will flourish if the grand alliance comes to power.
Addressing election meetings in Sasaram and Aurangabad ahead of the Bihar polls starting on October 12, Modi also attacked Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad and Sonia Gandhi for not giving an account of their performance of their 60 years rule in the state and said they have nothing else to speak except abuse him during campaigning.
“He (Lalu) now wants to run Bihar through remote control since he himself cannot contest elections. He says that he is a ‘Big Boss’ and he can make anyone dance to his tunes,” Modi said in Sasaram, reminding people of Lalu’s conviction in the fodder scam due to which he has been barred from contesting polls.
Scaling up the attack against the grand alliance on the issue in another poll rally in Aurangabad, the Prime Minister ridiculed Nitish Kumar for objecting to his ‘jungle raj’ comments instead of Lalu doing so.
“When we talk about ‘jungle raj’, it is Nitish Kumar who gets disturbed and not Lalu. It is he who had called Lalu’s rule as ‘jungle raj’. Now he is objecting it being called so. Does Bihar need jungle raj again? What industry flourished during jungle raj? It is only the kidnapping industry that flourished,” he said.
“New cars were snatched away, the houses of the poor were captured. Do you want such days again in Bihar? Should Bihar go back to the same days?,” Modi asked.
Attacking Kumar on his promise of ushering in good governance, the Prime Minister reeled out figures of crime in the state ever since the JD-U leader joined hands with RJD, ushering in a fresh spell of lawlessness.
He said there are indications to this effect ever since they have come together and as many as 4,000 abductions have taken place between January and July. He also recalled that a police officer was shot at in Patna last night.
“If a police officer is not safe. How can a common man be? This kind of jungle raj has already come when they have just come together. What will be the fate of Bihar if you commit the mistake of voting for them. Please save Bihar from being ruined,” he said.
BJP has been targeting the grand alliance, saying with Lalu being a part of it, there will be ‘jungle raj 2’.
Training his guns on leaders of the grand alliance, he said, “Should Lalu, Kumar and Sonia Gandhi not give an account of their 60 year rule and what they did for Bihar? But during campaigning, these three have not even spoken on it.
“They only abuse Modi day and night. Early morning they see the dictionary to find new abuses for Modi. Now even the dictionary does not suffice. So they have now come out with a factory to manufacture new abuses,” he said at a rally in Aurangabad in central Bihar.
In Sasaram, the constituency of Dalit leader late Jagjivan Ram, he hit out at Kumar for “backstabbing” dalits by removing maha dalit leader Jitan Ram Manjhi as Chief Minister.
Manjhi, who now heads Hindustan Awam Morcha (Secular) and is an NDA ally, was also on the stage when Modi attacked Kumar on the issue of Dalits.
“His(Kumar’s) arrogance will defeat him. He has committed the sin of backstabbing the son of a Dalit. He backstabbed him for personal gains,” Modi said.
Terming the grand alliance as a coming together of “opportunists”, Modi asked people to punish those who ruined Bihar.
“This election is not about who forms the next government or which party comes to power. It is not about making a new government, but about punishing all those who ran previous governments that ruined Bihar. You are the Supreme Court, you are the judges of Bihar. You have to press the button and punish the culprits on October 16,” he said.
He also asked the voters to elect the BJP-led NDA government to change the fortunes of the state änd that of the common man, as development only can help the state progress.
“On one side, there is ‘jungle raj’, while on the other is ‘vikas raj’ and you who have to now select. Vote for development and that is why I have come here. Bihar will change only through development. This election will determine where Bihar will make its place on the country and world map,” he said, promising to provide 24-hour power supply in the state and the country by 2022.
“How many youths migrated from the state. How many factories shut in the last 60 years. How many hospitals still don’t have doctors and how many schools still don’t have teachers. The only road to get rid of this jungle raj is vikas raj (development),” Modi said. (PTI)
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