NEW DELHI: A day before the second phase of the Bihar Assembly polls, the BJP exuded confidence that the NDA was headed for a “decisive and historic” victory in the elections, as it took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his recent jungle safari in Madhya Pradesh’s Satpura Tiger Reserve.
Speaking at the BJP headquarters on Monday, former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad dismissed Rahul’s visit to the Satpura Tiger Reserve as part of his “political tourism”.
“Where is Mr Tourist these days? Heard he went for a tiger safari in Pachmarhi. Rahul Gandhi is just a political tourist,” the former minister said, adding, “Rahul ji, you keep enjoying your political tourism. You need some rest in the forest of Madhya Pradesh.”
The people of Bihar are giving their mandate to the NDA once again because of its clean record of good governance and development works.
He also took potshots at RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who is the INDIA bloc’s CM face. Dismissing his allegations against the Election Commission as “false”. “Opposition leaders are in a habit of attacking all organs of democracy when results did not go their way,” Prasad said.
He also reacted sharply to Tejashwi’s claim that 208 companies of security personnel from BJP-ruled states have been deployed in Bihar for poll duties. “Did we send the police (security forces) or the EC to Bihar? He’s making false allegations,” the BJP leader expressed.
He also hit out at the RJD leader for criticising the poll panel for not disclosing the gender-wise data of electors who cast their votes in the first phase of polling, saying, “He should wait. The EC will release the data of all voters, including women and youth.”
Prasad also took exception to Tejashwi’s claim that the poll panel had been acting as a “tool” of the BJP. “What kind of language is this? How did his party’s leaders win elections in Bihar then?” he said.