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Taking on the grand alliance in Lalu Prasad Yadav's home turf of Gopalganj, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar whether he wanted the old days of ‘jungle raj’-- when the region had turned into a 'mini Chambal' -- to return.
He also attacked Nitish over his 2005 speech in Parliament, allegedly advocating sub-quota for Muslims.
Modi said that the old days must be acceptable to Nitish but not to the people of Bihar.
“Nitishji says with temerity -- return us the old days. You remember those days when kidnappings were the order of the day, women were dishonoured, Dalits were persecuted, robberies used to happen daily. What happened during the jungle raj? Didn’t they make this area (Gopalganj) a mini-Chambal,” Modi sought to know, in a reference to Madhya Pradesh’s Chambal region where dacoits once held sway
“Here gun shots were fired indiscriminately on railway stations. There was only one thing that happened here, which was kidnapping. Do you want the area to become Chambal again? Do you want those old days? Nitishji, the old days may be acceptable to you for the lust of power but not to the people of Bihar,” he added.
Modi also attacked the Bihar chief minister over the quota issue.
“Nitish had made his intentions clear way back on August 24, 2005. They lost cool when I alleged that they want to steal away 5 per cent of reservation from the quota given to the Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Economically Backward Classes and give it to a particular community. Even the makers of the Indian Constitution were against it. I have the document of what he said in the Parliament on August 25, 2005. I challenge him to reply to this if he has the courage. He tells such big lies and engages in cheap talk. This game is not going to last long,” he mentioned.
Modi’s counter portraying the grand alliance as tilted towards a particular community even on reservation issue is an apparent move to take the sting out of the rivals attempt to portray the Bharatiya Janata Party as anti-reservation after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks on reservation.
The PM defended the perceived change in the BJP’s campaign focus from development to identity politics as polls advanced into the final stages.
“Can I, son of a backward, extremely backward and Dalits not talk about development? Now-a-days they are saying that Modi has changed his profile. They are saying that Modi, who earlier used to talk about development, is not talking about his extremely backward caste origin,” he further added.
“Do you alone have the right to talk about development? It is their arrogance, which makes them say all this,” said Modi whose party has been playing on the PM’s humble origin to reach out to the voters in the caste compartmentalised state.
He also read out names of the scams that were reported during the regime of Lalu and Nitish.
Promising rule of law and employment for youth if BJP came to power, the prime minister said Bihar election is an opportunity to punish those who "looted" the state in the last 60 years including 25 years when bada bhai-chhota bhai (Lalu-Nitish) ruled the state.
Reaching out to the youth, Modi talked about the issue of migration at length and recalled his visit to Abu Dhabi, where he said the maximum migrant labourers were from Gopalganj and Siwan.
"Will you get employment as long as bada bhai and chota bhai remain in power. Is the bada bhai bothered about anybody else except his sons and family members. When he went to jail earlier (in fodder scam), he made his wife the chief minister.
"Now when he knows that he has to spend his remaining life in jail, he is asking his son to get ready fast to take the mantle. What kind of game is going on in this country. Should Bihar be handed over to such nepotists?, Modi asked.
The prime minister, who was attacked by grand alliance leaders particularly Nitish for allegedly 'humiliating' Biharis and 'questioning' their DNA, accused the chief minister of "insulting" residents.
"Nitish babu victory and defeat are part of election. But why are you so angry? You have now started abusing and insulting Biharis after you have got tired doing this to Modi. Insulting Biharis will cost you dear. He has made the allegation that those attending Modi's meetings take money.
"Is this not a lie? Is this not your insult? Is this not the insult of Biharis? The sin of calling Biharis as someone who can be bought, is going to cost Nitish dearly. Do not hurt the self-esteem of Biharis. Even the poorest person will not tolerate if you say he can be bought," Modi said, adding the success of NDA in Bihar can be measured by the attitude of the grand alliance leaders after each rally of the BJP.
Citing the coal and 2G scams during the UPA regime, Modi claimed that ever since the NDA came to power there has been no charge of corruption against his government.
"They have been badmouthing me, but there has not been a charge of corruption of even single paisa in 16 months of NDA rule," he said as he attacked Nitish government over two of his ministers being caught on graft charges in a sting operation.
"Nitish had said if anyone is caught doing corruption, the offender's property will be confiscated and converted into a school. "Laluji has been jailed for corruption. Then why did Nitish not confiscate his house. Why didn't he open the school there or in the house of the two tantriks? Why is he befooling people?
"They were taking advance to sell Bihar. Will they be allowed to sell Bihar and destroy the state. I have to stop the loot of the treasury even in Bihar. Give me a chance to serve Bihar," he said.