True to the speculations, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has decided to make the DNA issue a poll plank to take on his bête noire PM Narendra Modi and the BJP bandwagon. He is likely to get full support from his new ally lalu Prasad. Nitish on Monday announced that five million Biharis will send their DNA samples to Modi and join the signature campaign.
“We will hold a Swabhiman rally at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on August 29 to mount pressure on Modi to take back his words,” Nitish tweeted. He said, “In spite of our repeated pleas Modiji hasn’t retracted his derogatory remarks on our DNA, we’re going to launch Shabd wapsi #TakeBackYourWords.”
The PM during his Muzaffarpur rally speech on July 25 had questioned the DNA of Nitish and termed it poor. To this, Nitish had retorted that his DNA was that of Bihar and no different from the Biharis, hence the remark was an insult to the Biharis.
like Modi, who once stunningly sold the idea of Gujarat Asmita in response to all attacks on him, Nitish is also harping on the idea of Bihari Asmita (pride) to counter Modi’s diatribes. “Modi has attacked the Bihari Asmita and people will not remain silent to this humiliation,” he said.
“We are fully confident that the people of Bihar will give a befitting reply to those who heaped insult on them. A stubborn Modi did not only refuse to take back his words he at his Gaya rally on Sunday called Bihar a Bimaru State and its people unlucky,” Nitish said in his series of tweets.
The Swabhiman rally has been scheduled on August 29, a day before PM’s fourth political rally at Bhagalpur on August 30 after a rally at Saharsa on August 18.
The CM said that in second phase of the agitation, the DNA sample and signature campaign will be taken to each home of Bihar and four to five Swabhiman Rallies will be held in different parts of the State.
RJD supremo lalu Prasad is expected to take part in the 29 August rally in Patna. A day earlier, lalu said, “Modi’s remarks have agitated the entire population of Bihar. He has alleged fault in the blood of Biharis and named our party as junglee. Nobody will tolerate such humiliating remarks. We will hold joint rally at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan and show Modi the power and strength of Biharis.”
Former deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi took swipe at Nitish’s plan of sending lakhs of DNA samples and said it is a costly process and for the millions of tests it would require Rs 3,000 crore. “The CM should tell who will foot the bill, the Government or the partyIJ” he asked. The DNA, he said, is tested in rape and controversial parenthood cases but the political DNA is tested by the public. “In the next two months the public will do the DNA test of Nitish and lalu in the election and give their reports,” he said.
The BJP leader said that in order to evade the public related issues raised by PM Modi, the CM was trying to make DNA and Bimaru issues unnecessarily. “Instead of the DNA of 50 lakh people, he should go for the DNA tests of Sonia Gandhi, lalu Prasad, Om Prakash Chautala, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shahabuddin and himself,” SuMo said.