On last day of campaign, rivals indulge in one-upmanship

On the last day of campaigning for the Bihar Assembly poll today, battle of words got louder among rivals as they indulged in one-upmanship.

The Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission (EC) of stealing votes and termed them “vote chor”.

“I exploded a hydrogen bomb by highlighting fraudulent polling in Haryana. The PM and the EC should have proved me wrong, but they preferred to remain silent as they are the real vote chor,” he said.

Accusing PM of spreading communal hatred in the country, Rahul said, “Modi has hatred running in his veins.”

He said there were two different ideologies in the country. “On the one hand, the BJP and RSS create friction on the basis of caste, religion and gender. And on the other, the Congress and Mahagathbandhan want to strengthen the nation,” said the LoP.

Accusing the NDA government of trying to divert the attention of youths through social media, he cornered the CM Nitish Kumar-led government over its failure to provide education, healthcare and employment to the youngsters in Bihar.

Rahul alleged that PM Modi has ensured that Adani and Ambani make profit at all cost.

In Arwal, Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Rahul Gandhi is now taking the name of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar for votes. The Congress never respected Dr Ambedkar when he was alive. Now, they are using him as a tool to attract voters,” he said.

Shah pointed out that Arwal was once known as the Naxal-hit district of Bihar. “The red flag carriers brought in Naxalism and violence in the region. They will do it again if they are voted to power,” he said.

Shah said they would establish 25 new sugar mills in Bihar in the next five years. “Some time ago, Rahul Gandhi launched an agitation to shield infiltrators. He accused the EC for removing their names from the voters’ list. He is more worried about infiltrators than Indians,” Shah added. The Home Minister said he was confident of the NDA forming the government once again in Bihar on November 14.

Addressing a public meeting at Sarsaram, Shah said even three generations of RJD Supremo Lalu Yadav would not have given money to Jeewika Didis. He asserted that there was no vacancy for the post of CM in Bihar.

In Madhubani, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath said, “Those who have taken land from you will never give you jobs. More than 30,000 kidnapping incidents were reported during the RJD rule.” Addressing a public meeting in Supaul, Yogi said, “The state which had Nalanda University and gave knowledge to the world had one of the lowest literacy rate during the RJD rule.”

Pointing out that mafia has been uprooted in UP, Yogi added that the same would happen in Bihar after the NDA government comes to power once again.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who turned 37 today, had a busy day addressing 15 meetings. He asked for a chance to be the CM and promised to change the fortune of youths.

Confident of the win, Tejashwi’s elder sister Misa Bharti said, “We will invite PM Narendra Modi for the swearing in ceremony of the Mahagathbandhan government. He is our PM as well.”