PATNA: Kickstarting the first poll campaign for Bihar Assembly elections on Friday, PM Narendra Modi said that the time of 'lantern' is gone now as the people of Bihar are not allowing the party, responsible for making the state sick, to win.
In his first rally in the state, Modi sought votes for another term of the NDA government under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying he had been working with the JD(U) president only for the last three-four years and that the state had seen much speedier development in this period.
Kumar had returned to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in 2017 after fighting against it in the last assembly polls in 2015.
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.
The Congress-led UPA government at the Centre between 2004 and 2014 put "roadblocks" in the state's development as Kumar was a member of the NDA for most of the time, Modi said.
While the RJD ruled Bihar for 15 years from 1990, Kumar 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.
Targeting the RJD, Modi said that people should not ever forget those who gave Bihar crime, corruption and others.
"They ruined the state in the name of government jobs and are now again greedy to grab power in Bihar," he said.
Stepping up attacks on the opposition, especially the Congress, Modi said that whenever the middlemen are hammered for providing direct benefits to farmers, the opposition start fanning false propogandas.
"For them, the interest of middlemen is above the farmers' benefits and welfare," he said, adding that they start siding with those conspiring against the nation.
Making a frontal attack on the previous UPA government, he said that there was a time when CM Nitish Kumar was demanding due rights but the centre didn't agree.
"The UPA government was totally vindictive towards Nitish Kumar but when the NDA government was formed, Bihar under Nitish Kumar started getting its due," he said.
Applauding the incumbent state government's works, Modi said that when Nitish realised that working with the RJD-led Grand alliance would push Bihar 15 years back, he quit the alliance and the BJP again supported him to continue developing the state.
"And in those 18 months of alliance, members of a family (RJD) did whatever is known to all. Whatever has been publishing against them is known still to all," he lashed out at RJD.
He targeted the opposition for promising to remove Article 370, if voted to power though some parties "just filled their pockets after coming into power".
"I from the land of Bihar want to say to those who are siding with those conspirators, that the country will not retreat from its decisions," he averred.
Listing a lot of promises, Modi announced that a big decision was going to be taken to start imparting education for engineering and medical courses in the mother-tongue for those whose English is not strong.
He also claimed that the NDA government under Nitish Kumar's leadership is the need for making the state developed and self-reliant. He said that Bihar is moving out of the darkness towards light after the RJD ruined the state.
"This time voters of Bihar are putting all their energy for the victory of NDA," he said.
The Prime Minister also paid his tributes to late LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan and Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who had died recently after arriving in the state. He said that Paswan remained with the NDA like a true friend.
Without naming any opposition party, he said their protests against the recent farm reform laws are in fact aimed at "saving" middlemen and brokers while being couched as support for the Minimum Support Price and agriculture 'mandis'.
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.
The RJD-led opposition alliance is the principal challenger to the NDA in the state polls which begin from October 28.
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, Modi said.
'BIMARU' is an acronym for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
It was used to refer to the 'poor economic conditions' of these states.
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, he said.
Kumar and BJP ally Mukesh Sahni shared the stage with the prime minister.
Referring to the Galwan Valley clash with Chinese troops, Modi said the sons of Bihar laid down their lives for the tricolour but did not let 'Mother' India's head bow.
The soldiers of Bihar were also martyred in the Pulwama attack, he said.
Modi also said the "Mahagathbandhan" (Grand Alliance) was a "pitara" (basket) comprising elements wary of the "governments crackdown on anti-national activities", and stressed that the state must vote to power the NDA led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar so that "Bihar does not fall ill (Bimar) again".
"The state now has electricity. The days of lantern are over," said Modi in a reference to the election symbol of the Rashtriya Janata Dal founded and headed by Lalu Prasad.
"Most of the ills that plague the state today are the result of the years of anarchy and bad governance it had to suffer in the 1990s. The new generation ought to know that Bihar has been witness to times when people alighting from trains in the night used to stay back at the station since anti-social elements used to maraud freely," he alleged.
He claimed people used to avoid buying a new car out of fear that a particular political party might get to know about their prosperity and they might end up getting kidnapped for ransom.
It was an obvious reference to the RJD, which was often accused by adversaries of patronising criminals.
He also said that the assembly elections in the state were crucial because of the sheer number of people who are going to cast their votes amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
Modi said it was a chance to the people to vote the NDA back to power and ensure unhindered growth.
Taking potshots at the opposition Grand Alliance, which also includes the Congress and Left parties, Modi charged the coalition partners with "promoting naxalism" and intending to "keep the people poor as they fear that prosperity will make them politically irrelevant".
(With PTI Inputs)