Patna: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar at a function for the launch of a number of government schemes in Patna on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday as he kick-started the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA’s) assembly election campaign in the state.
I was hurt when he withdrew his support. But when he did the same thing to a Mahadalit such as Jitan Manjhi, then I figured out there is something wrong in his political DNA,” Modi said, referring to events following the JD(U)’s split with the BJP in 2013.
What happened to those who worked with him? To George Fernandez? To our (BJP’s) Sushil Modi who once worked shoulder to shoulder with him?” he asked. The JD(U) and the BJP were alliance partners for 15 years till they split ahead of the Lok Sabha elections over the projection of Modi as the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate.
In the 2010 assembly elections, the BJP-JD (U) combine netted 206 of the 243 seats, trouncing Lalu Prasad’s RJD and the Congress. Even after the split, the BJP alliance fared well, winning 31 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in 2014.
The NDA is pitted against a combination of Kumar’s JD(U), Lalu’s RJD and the Congress in the state elections scheduled later this year. Other parties of the Janata Parivar and the Aam Aadmi Party are backing them. In Muzaffarpur, Modi said Kumar broke up with the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections for personal gain.
If you hated me so much you could have come into my room and slapped me or strangled me..you jeopardised the development of the entire state,” he said. The PM also took a dig at Lalu, saying his RJD stood for ‘rozana jungle raj ka dar (fear of jungle raj everyday)’.
I had promised a Rs 50,000 special package for Bihar (ahead of the Lok Sabha elections). I can’t announce it now as Parliament is in session. As soon as the session ends, I will announce it,” he said. The rally was attended by top BJP leaders in the state and the saffron party’s allies — Ramvilas Paswan (Lok Janshakti Party), Upendra Kushwaha (Rashtriya Lok Samata Party) and Jitan Ram Manjhi (Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular).
Earlier in the day, Modi vowed to fulfil his 2014 election promise of an economic package for Bihar while addressing an event in Patna. In the state capital, Modi launched a slew of projects and shared the dais with Kumar, with whom he shared a few laughs.
Bureau Report
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