As the high-stake Bihar polls reached its penultimate fourth phase and the war of words between rival sides generated more heat and dust, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on the ‘bahari’ (outsider) issue asking him if he considered Congress president Sonia Gandhi also a ‘bahari’.
The Congress is part of the Mahagathbandhan that also has the JD(U) and the RJD.
In the meantime, the BJP and the Mahagathbandhan both moved Election Commission (EC) in New Delhi accusing each other of trying to disturb communal harmony. The left parties — including CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury — too chipped in demanding action against BJP president Amit Shah.
Asserting that he was not a Prime Minister of another country, Modi in his election rallies in Muzaffarpur and Gopalganj on the last day of campaigning for the fourth phase, said, “Nitish babu says I am a bahari. I will ask (him) how I can be a bahari in Bihar which is a strong organ of India and whose people had voted to make me Prime Minister. Am I
Pakistan’s Prime MinisterIJ Am I Bangladesh’s or Sri lanka’s
Prime MinisterIJ
“I will ask him if he also calls Madam Sonia, who lives in Delhi a bahariIJ Is she a bahari or BihariIJ Those who cannot give an account of their work play these games to mislead people.”
Taking on his rivals in RJD chief lalu Prasad’s home turf of Gopalganj, Modi wondered if Kumar wanted the return of old days of ‘jungle raj’ when the region had turned into a ‘mini Chambal’, in a riposte to Kumar’s barb that he (PM) should return to the country its ‘old’ days if he cannot deliver the promised ‘achhe din’ (good days).
Nitish Kumar hit back accusing Modi of brazenly using “divisive language”, and warned that he may “lose” India in his “desperation” to win the “losing battle” of Bihar.
As the Prime Minister locked himself in the battle of wits with his political rivals in the State, the two sides also opened fronts against each other in the national Capital where they petitioned the EC accusing each other of playing “communal politics” and demanding action from the Commission.
A BJP delegation, led by Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and general secretary Arun Singh, met the Commission and presented a memorandum alleging that leaders from Congress, JD(U) and RJD— Rahul Gandhi,Nitish Kumar, lalu Prasad— were trying to divide the electorate of Bihar on communal lines for their vested interest and sought “stringent action” against them. The BJP also alleged that lalu had been using foul language against Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.
The BJP delegation said Congress vicepresident Rahul Gandhi had said on Thursday, “The BJP wants to get votes by making Hindu and Muslims fight against each other.”
To even it out, the grand alliance pounced upon BJP chief’s “firecrackers in Pakistan” remark and condemned it as “inflammatory”. The JD(U) and the Congress complained to the EC and demanded banning his entry in Bihar till the poll process is over. RJD leader lalu Prasad called him “mad”.
At an election rally in Raxaul in Bihar on Friday, Shah said there will be bursting of firecrackers in Pakistan if the BJP loses the Assembly elections.
JD(U) general secretary KC Tyagi was part of a delegation that included Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, which met Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi in Delhi and submitted a memorandum, accusing the BJP of “vitiating” the electoral process by “promoting communal tension”.
Yechury said Shah’s remarks were a “clear violation” of the model code of conduct for elections and underscored BJP’s “extreme desperation and frustration” as he predicted a “Delhi-like” debacle for the NDA in Bihar Assembly election. The CPI also approached the Election Commission (EC) over the issue.