PATNA: RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Friday called the Narendra Modi government a “jhooth ka darbaar” (bundle of lies) and urged people to throw it out of power in the Lok Sabha elections.
His statement comes on a day the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) led by Mukesh Sahani tied up with the grand alliance in Bihar, which is part of INDIA bloc. VIP has been given three seats under seat-sharing arrangements.
“Lies are being spread on every issue, be it providing jobs, historical facts, development works and making promises. It seems that spreading lies among people is the business of the Narendra Modi government,” Lalu said on X. He said that the union government was silent on how many people have been given jobs and employment opportunities in the last one decade. “If any leader is in Opposition, he is deep-rooted in corruption. But the same person becomes clean if he joins the saffron party,” Lalu said.
Modi at his election rally in Jamui had attacked the RJD-Congress for being involved in plundering of public money. “Those who have looted money will have to return,” Modi asserted. Meanwhile, former union minister and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president Upendra Kushwaha said Lalu has lost his mental balance. Describing PM Modi as a visionary leader, Kushwaha said Lalu should not have made such remarks against him.
Former deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav told the media that Sahani’s VIP was offered Purvi Champaran (Motihari), Gopalganj and Jhanjharpur seats. With three seats allotted to VIP, now RJD will contest 23 seats and Congress nine, CPI-ML three, and CPI and CPI(M) one each. “Which party will contest on how many seats and from where has already been made clear to the leaders of the parties concerned,’ Tejashwi said.
Sahahni said, “We are the people who believe in the ideology of Lalu Prasad. BJP tried to poach our leaders and also attempted to finish our party, but they could not succeed.” VIP had contested 2019 Lok Sabha polls as part of grand alliance. In 2020 assembly polls, Sahani walked out of the alliance alleging that his party was not being given due respect.
EC: Launch campaign to increase voter turnout
The Election Commission on Friday directed municipal commissioners and DEOs of those parliamentary constituencies in Bihar where polling percentage was lower than the national average in the last Lok Sabha elections to launch an ambitious and intensive campaign to increase voter turnout in the upcoming polls. The direction to this effect was given by the EC at a conference, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. Eleven states and Union territories had voter turnout lower than national average.