Speed Post News Network
Patna : The NDA campaigning for the ensuing Bihar Assembly Polls received a real shot in the arm on October 23, 2020, as PM Narendra Modi addressed huge meeting at Sasarm, Gaya, and Bhagalpur, seeking votes for the NDA nominnes. At Sasaram, PM Modi greeted the massive gathering in Bhojpuri and said Bihar is the country’s pride. He paid tributes to LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan and former RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who passed away recently.
Even before the polls, people of Bihar have given their message and all surveys show that the NDA government will retain power in the state, the PM said.
Lashing out at the RJD -led Mahagathbandhan ( Grand Alliance) at Sasaram, Modi referred to the incidents of crime and loot during the 15-year rule of the RJD as he sought people’s vote for the NDA to ensure the state’s continuous its journey on the road to development. In his first rally in the state at Sasaram, Modi sought votes for another term for the NDA government headed by CM Nitish Kumar saying he had been working with the JD(U) president only for the last three-four years and the state had seen much speedier development during the period. Nitish had returned to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in 2017 after fighting against it in the 2015 Assembly polls.
A double-engine government, he said referring to the NDA ruling at the Centre and the state as well, will ensure Bihar’s development at a fast pace.
He said the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre between 2004 and 2014 put “roadblocks” in the state’s development as Nitish Kumar was a member of the NDA for most of the time. Nitish has been the state’s chief minister since 2005 barring a brief period when he installed Jitan Ram Manjhi in his place in 2014 for over nine months.
PM Modi also accused the opposition of siding with forces which are conspiring to weaken India by promising to restore Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir if it comes to power. Without naming any opposition party, Modi said their protests against the recent farm reform laws are in fact aimed at saving middlemen. They had spoken the language of middlemen and brokers even when the Rafale fighter aircraft were bought, he said, asserting that India will not back off from the decisions it has taken.
Modi spoke of frequent heinous crimes like “murders, dacoity and extortion” under RJD’s 15-year rule and said people are now living without any fear. “The people of Bihar cannot forget the era when life would come to a standstill after sunset. Today, roads, electricity and lights are there,” he said. People have decided that those who have a history of making Bihar ‘Bimaru’ and looted it when in power will not be allowed to rule it again, PM Modi said.
Referring to the Galwan Valley clash with Chinese troops, Modi said the sons of Bihar laid down their lives for the tricolour. The soldiers of Bihar were also martyred in the Pulwama attack, he said while paying tributes to them.
Modi attacked corrupt politicians at both Bhagalpur and Sasaram. At Gaya, the PM repeatedly mentioned ” Gayaji”, the ancient name of the city.