Assembly election in Bihar is six months away but the political parties have already started making ground preparations. The BJP on Thursday held a programme here in which former Minister and JD(U) spokesman Devesh Chandra Thakur and his supporters joined the BJP. The speakers called upon people to dethrone the JD(U) Government led by Nitish Kumar and supported by lalu Prasad’s RJD and Congress.
The speakers including senior BJP leaders Sushil Kumar Modi and Nand Kishore Yadav heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and listed the works he is doing for Bihar’s progress. They also slammed Nitish for opening front against the Centre and joining hands with arch rivals RJD and Congress for his survival.
Modi recalled the series of massacres, kidnapping for ransom, crime, corruption and sullied image of Bihar during the 15-year-long lalu-Rabri regime and told the audience that the same evils are once again rising after Nitish embarrassed lalu.
“lalu is on bail and can go to jail anytime. It is up to anybody’s guess that Nitish will frequent Beur jail in Patna and Tihar jail in Delhi to fun his Government,” he said while referring to Nitish’s meeting with INlD chief Om Prakash Chautala in Tihar jail. Modi asked people, “You have to answer (in the Assembly polls) if Narendra Modi is bad or lalu is good,” he said and added that now BJP has control over both Mandal and Kamandal.
leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Nand Kishore Yadav asked Nitish if, as per his own claim, people had voted on his name why he now needed support of lalu and Congress. Taking a jibe at the proposed merger of Janata parties he said it showed frustration of those defeated and rejected parties.
Union minister of state for sanitation and drinking water Ram Kripal Yadav it is not the merger of Janata Parivar but the Milan of some parivar. The former close aide of lalu, who joined BJP during lok Sabha polls and contested on BJP ticket after denial by RJD, called lalu and Nitish as thugs, corrupt and inefficient people who are fighting for their existence.
Thakur, the MlC from Tirhut graduate constituency, who served as Minister under Nitish for a brief period confessed that he was not considered by JD(U) to stay as Minister nor given ticket to contest lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha elections. “I was ignored because of my caste,” said Thakur who belongs to Brahmin caste. In his speech punctuated with satire, jokes and couplets, he hit hard at Nitish and praised Narendra Modi saying he would dedicate his life for strengthening BJP. Several hundred supporters of Thakur also joined the BJP on this occasion.