SAKARA: Arriving late but greeted by roaring crowds, Rahul Gandhi captured the hearts of a mostly youthful audience waving Congress and RJD flags amid the shimmering rain. Launching his first election rally in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur after weeks of silence over the Mahagathbandhan’s seat-sharing dispute, the Congress leader chose Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the prime target of his attack.
Arriving late by helicopter, Rahul shared the stage with the Mahagathbandhan’s CM face, Tejashwi Yadav for the first time at an election rally.
Opening his speech, he asked the crowd, "How is the mood?" The audience responded enthusiastically, shouting, "Josh is high, badlo sarkar (change the government)!"
From there Rahul launched a series of blistering attacks on PM Modi, starting by pointing out the Delhi government’s Chhath preparations.
"You must have seen the drama on TV that Modi was going to take a dip in the Yamuna for Chhath Puja. It was shelved when it was exposed that a puddle had been formed with clean, piped water since the river is so dirty," he said.
Calling it a part of Modi's "drama," Rahul claimed, "Narendra Modi is ready to enact all types of drama. You try telling him at a poll rally that, Mr Prime Minister, we will vote for you if you dance. He will readily perform Bharat Natyam."
Gandhi asserted that under the leadership of Tejashwi, a new government would be formed in Bihar, and it would ensure that the interests of all sections of society, cutting across caste and religious lines, are taken care of.
"I will ask the people of the state, especially the extremely backward classes, to give up the illusion that the government is run by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. It is a government run through remote control, by the BJP, which does not care for Bihar," he said.
Criticising PM Modi over GST and demonetisation, he claimed it had destroyed small businesses. The Mahagathbandhan, he said, wanted these businesses to flourish so that one day all made in China labels can be replaced by "made in Bihar."
"The clothes that you wear mostly carry the label made in China. I want to see the day when these shall be replaced by made in Bihar. But this cannot happen under a dispensation which works for big business houses. It requires a boost to small and medium-scale industries, which the BJP destroyed through measures like demonetisation and flawed GST," he alleged.
Rahul also mocked the Prime Minister's claims about providing cheap internet data and making social media accessible to even the poor.
"Why does Modi not also reveal that he has allowed the monopoly of one business house in the telecom sector. Moreover, he wants people to get addicted to reels and Instagram because he cannot give them jobs," he claimed.
Amid pouring rain, at a venue located in a densely populated Muslim and Scheduled Caste area, Rahul Gandhi reiterated his claims of vote theft and alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls facilitated "chunav chori."
"...they stole the polls in Maharashtra and Haryana. They will try to do the same in Bihar. Theft of votes is an assault on the Constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar. We are committed to protecting the Constitution," he said.
Gandhi claimed that it was at the Congress's insistence that the Modi government agreed to a caste census.
"Two Indias are emerging. One belongs to the common people, and the other to five or 10 billionaires. This is the reason that places like Bihar suffer in poverty, with its vast potential remaining untapped," he alleged.
He further alleged that land in Mumbai’s Dharavi — where many people from Bihar run small businesses — had been handed over to a billionaire.
Continuing his fierce attack, Rahul reiterated that Modi and the BJP were anti-poor and opposed to social justice. “Modi ji wants to end elections; he’s in the business of ‘vote chori’. But the people of Bihar are wise and understand everyone’s intentions in politics,” he declared.
He assured the crowd that if the Mahagathbandhan formed the government, it would be inclusive and representative of all religions. “It will take time, but our vision is to make Bihar a global centre,” he promised, adding that the people of Bihar possess exceptional intelligence.
"You are also able to understand political intricacies in a matter of seconds. I would urge you not to be swayed by the drama of Narendra Modi," he add
Rahul Gandhi also stated that during his Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar a couple of months ago, people had clearly expressed their strong desire for a change of government.
