Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi are in Bihar today rallying their supporters ahead of the crucial Bihar Assembly elections scheduled for November 6 and 11.
While Rahul Gandhi started his campaign for Bihar polls from Muzaffarpur, Amit Shah increased his pitch for NDA candidates from Darbhanga, Begusarai and Samastipur.
Here we take a look at the main takeaways from their speeches:
Rahul Gandhi
The 1st LS LoP on Wednesday alleged that the BJP is running the Bihar government “through remote control” while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is just a face.
2. Gandhi alleged that the BJP government at the Center was “against social justice” and said that the Narendra Modi government had agreed to census castes on the insistence of the Congress.
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3. Gandhi claimed, “Two Indias are emerging. One belongs to the common people and the other to five or 10 billionaires. That is why places like Bihar suffer from poverty and its huge potential remains untapped,” a PTI report said.
4. “You all must have seen the drama that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to create by announcing that he would take a dip in the Yamuna on the occasion of Chhath Puja. When it was revealed that it was a body of water created using piped water, Modi winced,” the Congress leader also claimed.
5. Gandhi said that why Modi claims to make cheap data available to Indians hides “the fact that a monopoly of one trading house has been allowed in the telecom sector.” Rahul also said that Modi is silent “on the destruction caused to the economy by demonetisation”.
6. Gandhi reiterated his allegations of vote-stealing in the Maharashtra and Haryana polls, adding, “They will try to do the same in Bihar.”
7. Gandhi also spoke about the rich cultural history of Bihar and said that the people of the state are doing well in other countries like “Dubai, Mauritius, Seychelles and America.”
8. Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi told the gathering, “You too are capable of understanding political intricacies within seconds. I would urge you not to get swayed by Narendra Modi’s drama. He would be ready to dance on stage if he felt it would bring you votes.”
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This latest comment by the Congress leader infuriated BJP members, with BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari calling the LS LoP a “local goon” for his remark.
He also claimed that Gandhi was “mocking the electorate” and “insulting” the poor with his remarks.
Let’s see what Amit Shah said in his rally:
Amit Shah
1. Speaking in Darbhanga, Shah alleged that Lalu Prasad Yadav is trying to make his son the Chief Minister while Sonia Gandhi is trying to make her son the Prime Minister without realizing that neither post is vacant.
2. Shah questioned whether the arrested members of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) would remain in jail if the Mahagathbandhan came to power.
3. Home Minister termed Mahagathbandhan as ‘thug bandhan’, alleging that RJD supremo Lalu Prasad is involved in a series of scams including fodder, land for labor and bitumen scams. He also alleged that the Congress is involved in corruption cases ₹12 million crowns.
4. Shah, in Begusarai, referred to Rahul Gandhi’s Vote Adhikar Yatra in Bihar as ‘save infiltrators yatra’.
5. He likened the NDA alliance in Bihar as “paanch paandav” and said the upcoming elections will be a way to prevent the return of “jungle raj” in the state.
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6. Shah also claimed that the INDIA bloc wants to take away the title of ‘Jannayak’ given to former CM Karpoori Thakur. “Modi ji awarded Bharat Ratna Jannayak Karpoori Thakur. Now (opposition) wants to take away Karpoori ji’s title. We will not let this happen. People have seen the real face of Congress which prevented Babu Jagjivan Ram from becoming Prime Minister,” Shah said, according to PTI.
7. Shah said that Darbhanga will get metro rail soon, highlighting the construction of airport and AIIMS being built in the region.
8. Talking about the temple dedicated to Goddess Sita being built in Mithila, the BJP leader emphasized that all the places visited by the goddess will be connected to one ‘Ram Circuit’.
