Lagatar24 Desk
Patna, Sept 16: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday lashed out at the INDIA coalition, alleging that it was because of corruption that they had had to change their name from UPA. The senior BJP leader also had a prediction to make while addressing a rally in Bihar’s Jhanjharpur: “We won 39 seats in 2019, this time round we will break all records and win all 40 seats,” reports The Indian Express.
Calling the Opposition parties “opportunistic”, the Home Minister blamed them for the deteriorating law-and-order situation in Bihar. “The law-and-order situation in Bihar is deteriorating every day and the presence of the Mahagathbandhan will worsen the situation furthermore in the coming days. If Modiji does not become the PM again, the entire ‘Seemanchal’ region will be full of ‘ghuspaithiyas’ (intruders)”, Shah said at the rally.
He added: “I read stories of shooting, kidnapping, looting, killing of journalists and Dalits in newspapers. This selfish ‘Mahagathbandhan’ is once again taking Bihar towards jungle raj.”
Continuing his attack on the Nitish Kumar-Lalu Prasad Yadav combine, Shah said that their alliance was like that of water and oil and can never remain intact for long. Alleging that the alliance had opposed the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the senior BJP leader added, “Lalu wants to make his son the chief minister and Nitish Kumar wants to become PM. But their wishes will never come true. Modiji will become PM in 2024.”
Shah also hit out at Lalu for corruption amounting to crores of rupees during his tenure as the Railway minister and said that Nitish has turned a blind eye towards it now. “No matter how much they change the name, remember that this is the same Lalu Prasad Yadav that kept Bihar backward for years.”
The BJP has stepped up its preparations for the Lok Sabha polls and for Bihar, it has already set up a team of 38 office-bearers for the state unit. The core BJP base, which the party has cultivated over the years, is upper castes and OBCs (excluding Yadavs). Recently, it has been able to cultivate support among some SC communities too.
The party previously tried to reach out to the Yadavs — upon whom the Rashtriya Janata Dal, which is part of the Mahagathbandhan alliance led by Nitish Kumar, has a firm hold — in 2022 by attempting to project Union Minister Nityanand Rai, a prominent Yadav face, as a possible chief ministerial candidate in the future. (Courtesy: The Indian Express)
