Launching his campaign for the Bihar assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday invoked the alleged reign of “crime” and ‘loot” during the 15-year rule of the RJD, as he sought people’s vote for the NDA to make sure the state’s continuous journey towards “development”.
In his first rally within the state, Modi sought votes for an additional term of the NDA government under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying he had been working with the JD(U) president just for the last three-four years which the state had seen much speedier development during this period.
Kumar had returned to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in 2017 after fighting against it within the last assembly polls in 2015.
A “double-engine” government, he said pertaining to the NDA ruling at the Centre and therefore the state also , will ensure Bihar’s development at a quick pace.
The Congress-led UPA government at the Centre between 2004 and 2014 put “roadblocks” within the state’s development as Kumar was a member of the NDA for many of the time, Modi said.
While the RJD ruled Bihar for 15 years from 1990, Kumar has been the state’s chief minister since 2005, barring a quick period when he installed Jitan Ram Manjhi in his place in 2014 for over nine months.
Modi also accused the opposition of siding with forces which are conspiring to weaken India by promising to revive Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir if it involves power.
Without naming any opposition party, he said their protests against the recent farm reform laws are actually aimed toward “saving” middlemen and brokers while being couched as support for the Minimum Support Price and agriculture ‘mandis’.
They had spoken the language of middlemen and brokers even when the Rafale fighter were bought, he said, asserting that India won’t backtrack from the choices it’s taken.
While speaking of varied development initiatives of the NDA governments at the Centre and within the state, he spoke of frequent heinous crimes like “murders, dacoity and extortion” under the 15-year rule of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD and said people can now live with none fear.
