2/3rds majority for NDA in Bihar to be befitting tribute to Nehru on his birthday on Nov 14: Rajnath

Patna/Darbhanga: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday quipped that a two-thirds majority for the NDA in Bihar’s 243-member assembly would be a “befitting tribute” to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his birthday, November 14, the day poll results will be declared.

At a rally at Barh in Patna district, he also slammed the RJD, claiming that people of Bihar do not want "goonda raj" and that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has largely been successful in undoing damage "inflicted by RJD's jungle raj".

"The day the Bihar poll results will be out happens to be the birthday of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. He may not be one of our ideologues, may not belong to our party, but he was the first prime minister of our nation. I do respect him," he said.

He further said that the kind of nation Nehru wanted to build is the kind of nation Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to build - a developed and strong country.

"If people vote the NDA to power by a two-thirds majority in Bihar on November 14, this will be a true tribute to Pt Nehru in real terms on his birthday. Do you want to accomplish this task or not?" Singh said while addressing the rally.

He also slammed the Congress and the RJD for attacking the Election Commission, and wondered "how will democracy run if constitutional bodies are defamed".

Alleging that the RJD has tarnished Bihar across the world, the defence minister said the issue of the assembly polls in the state was clear -- whether it will be taken back to the days of "jungle raj" or remain on the path of development.

Addressing an election rally in Darbhanga district earlier in the day, Singh slammed the RJD, alleging that it made an "unrealistic promise" of providing a government job to each household in the state.

"We will release our manifesto on Thursday and implement every single word in it," he said.

Singh claimed that no allegation of corruption can be levelled against CM Nitish Kumar, who governed the state for 20 years, while it was a matter of grief that the entire family of a former chief minister is accused of irregularities, in a reference to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, who was convicted in the fodder scam cases and accused of being involved in a land-for-jobs scandal.

He asserted that under Nitish Kumar's leadership, Bihar's GDP stands at 14 per cent, placing it in the second position among all states in India.

Singh also pointed out that the NDA government in Bihar is "carrying out a host of welfare policies for women".

Accusing the opposition parties in the state of making "false promises" of undoing amendments to the Waqf Act, he said they cannot do this, as the law was passed in Parliament.

Singh said his party, the BJP, does not indulge in politics of caste and religion, asserting that "we do fair and clean politics".

"Opposition parties want to secure votes of Bangladeshi infiltrators," he claimed.

The defence minister said Rs 15 lakh crore was allocated for the all-round development of the state in the last 11 years under the Narendra Modi government, vis-a-vis Rs 2 lakh crore given under the 10 years of UPA rule.

The Union minister highlighted that India has progressed from 11th position to 4th place in terms of economy "under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi", and in a few years, "will reach the third spot".

"It was PM Modi, not Rahul Gandhi, who gave constitutional status to the OBC commission," he said.

Singh claimed that after "the Congress failed to award Bharat Ratna" to former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur for decades, it was the "Narendra Modi-led NDA government that bestowed the prestigious award upon the EBC icon."