Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh termed the Opposition alliances fighting the BJP in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, States where he was campaigning on Saturday, as collections of parties that were led by those who were “either in jail or on bail” and whose only aim was to dislodge Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BJP is facing the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-Congress-Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP)-Hindustan Awaam Morcha alliance in Bihar and the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance in Uttar Pradesh, both crucial north Indian States. Speaking at Jamui and Nawada, seats where the Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) — an NDA member — has fielded candidates including Mr. Paswan’s son Chirag Paswan from Jamui, Mr. Singh said that the choice before the people was clear. Voters could either elect a government that had “not a single scam” to its name or back parties that had been part of corrupt governments in the past.
While the appeal on an anti-corruption plank was a common pitch in all four rallies, Mr. Singh also emphasised the action that the government had taken on national security. “We do not attack anybody but if we are attacked then we also do not leave anybody,” he said. “After the attack on Pulwama, Prime Minister Modi acted quickly and hit terrorist hideouts in Balakot on their own territory; we were careful that no innocent Pakistani was hit, and did not attack its Army either, in a bid to protect its sovereignty, but we hit at terrorists who had perpetrated the attacks on our soil,” he said.
In the Bihar seats where he campaigned, there was response from the crowd on the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana or the income support scheme for farmers that had been announced in the Union budget this year. “We have announced and disbursed the first instalment of PM Kisan and the Congress had to come up with this plan for minimum income support. When you ask them for details, they say it will be done as a top up, but when they announced it people felt that ₹12,000 would be given to all beneficiaries,” he said.