Cong forced to accept Tejashwi as CM face at gunpoint: Modi tears into Opposition

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed that the Congress had been unwilling to accept Tejashwi Yadav as the INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial candidate and agreed only after the RJD pointed a “katta” (a country-made pistol) at its head.

Addressing a rally at Arrah in Bihar’s Bhojpur district, the Prime Minister targeted the RJD’s alleged strong-arm tactics and its uneasy ties with alliance partners. “They have learnt their lessons in the school of ‘jungle raj’. Such elements can never do good for Bihar. After the elections, the two parties will be after each other’s throats,” he said.

Modi took strong exception to remarks mocking his faith in Chhath and asked voters to give a fitting reply to those who insulted the festival. “These same parties had mocked the Ram Mandir,” he said, accusing the RJD and Congress of trying to protect infiltrators.

“We had vowed to beat terrorists on their home turf and we fulfilled that promise with Operation Sindoor, which has made the nation proud,” Modi said and alleged, “When terror hideouts in Pakistan were being bombed, the Congress’ first family was losing sleep. Pakistan and the Congress have still not recovered from the shock of Operation Sindoor.”

The PM said it was “Modi’s guarantee” that Article 370 would be scrapped, a promise that had been fulfilled with the Constitution now fully in force in Jammu and Kashmir.

He further alleged that the RJD and Congress cared only about “two families — one most corrupt in Bihar and the other most corrupt in the country”.

Drawing a comparison between the manifestos of the NDA and the Opposition, Modi said, “The Mahagathbandhan has released an election manifesto full of lies and deceit. They have taken all of you to be naive. They forgot that ‘ye public hai, sab janti hai’.”

In contrast, he said, the NDA’s promises were well thought out and aimed at making Bihar a developed state. “If we have promised one crore jobs, it is specified from where the jobs would come,” he said, adding that a developed Bihar was essential for a developed India. “We want the youth of Bihar to work in Bihar itself,” he said.

Modi stressed that whatever he had promised in the past had been delivered. “I had promised that no child of the poor would sleep hungry. For the past five years, the poor have been getting free foodgrains. I had promised ‘one rank, one pay’ for Army men and till date, they have received about Rs 1 lakh crore. Everyone knows that the promises made by the NDA are fulfilled,” he said.

He mocked the Mahagathbandhan’s promise of industrialising Bihar. “During the Congress and RJD regimes, all industries in Bihar were shut — the sugar mills, the paper mills and other factories closed. Do you think any investor will come here if they see the ‘jungle raj’ return?” he asked. Modi pointed to Dalmianagar, once Asia’s largest industrial hub, which he said shut down during the Congress regime. “Now they have the nerve to talk about industrialisation in Bihar,” he said.

The PM predicted a massive win for the NDA in the Assembly polls and a record defeat for the Mahagathbandhan. “Bihar will be a part of the Make in India programme. We will create a network of small and medium industries here. It will become a hub for textile manufacturing and food processing units. The industrial clusters will be expanded,” he said, adding that investors were beginning to show interest in Bihar.

Modi also highlighted the Jeevika project, saying the government would focus on creating ‘Lakhpati Jeevika Didis’. “Data centres will be opened, and the youth will be able to work for international companies while staying in Bihar,” he said.