Claiming a clean sweep for the BJP and its allies in Bihar Assembly election, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday listed many factors for the surge and said the voting pattern in the first three phases would continue in the next two phases on November 1 and 5.
Addressing a Press conference at the BJP office here, Jaitley was highly critical of the artists, litterateurs and scientists who are returning their awards. Jaitley called them “rabid anti-BJP elements” and said many of them had gone to Varanasi to campaign against Narendra Modi in the last lok Sabha election.
Replying to a question, Jaitley said there was no
such environment (of intolerance) that warrants such activism. “ Whatever happened in some parts of the country was condemnable, but the Centre has nothing to do with that,” he said.
“Those returning awards are playing politics. Why their conscience did not prick them when scam after scam jolted the countryIJ “ said Jaitley.
Jaitley added, “They have stepped up their activism in the middle of the Bihar election. In a way they are electioneering against BJP.”
Commenting on the withdrawal of long agitation by the students of FTII, Jaitley said the Government wanted to make FTII an institution of excellence and serious talent making.
Jaitley who also campaigned for the NDA candidates by addressing a few election meetings, said five factors weighed in favour of BJP and its allies that included Narendra Modi’s popularity and enthusiasm among the youth. “People want same party Government at the Centre and State for smooth development and the Rs1.65 lakh crore package has generated hope among them. The negative response of the Bihar Government on this package has angered them,” he claimed.
He said the Mahagathbandhan was an alliance of desperation with Congress battling to save its extinction and RJD struggling for generational transition in the family. The JD(U), he said, was opportunist party, which first aligned with the BJP and then made efforts to send lalu Prasad to jail to corner his vote bank. The development agenda and goodwill was sacrificed by Nitish when he joined hands with lalu, he said and added that youths are influencing the election by trashing the old social equations.
Jaitley claimed that NDA was far ahead of Mahagathbandhan in the three phases of voting and set to provide stable Government. Asked to comment on the critical remarks of Patna Sahib MP Shatrughan Sinha on the party’s poll strategy, Jaitley quipped, “I don’t reply to some people.”