Bihar CM Nitish Kumar launches poll campaign with blistering attack on Lalu Prasad

PATNA: Sticking to his campaign theme of “15 years of ‘Jungle Raj’ vs his 15 years of ‘Susashan’”, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar launched a blistering attack on RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his entire family on Monday at a virtual rally officially launching JD(U)’s poll campaign.
In his three-hour speech, Nitish recounted in considerable detail his government’s achievements in all spheres over the past 15 years and contrasted it with the 15 years of the “pati-patni sarkar’ referring to the RJD rule of Lalu Prasad and later his wife Rabri Devi’s tenures between 1990 and 2005.
Aware that today’s youth may not be aware of the Lalu-Rabri regime, the Bihar CM repeatedly asked his party workers to inform the new generation as to what was the situation of law and order, roads, health sector and governance in the state till 2005.
“Tell the new generation about all the good work done by our government and scenario that prevailed before 2005. They were children then, but now they are adults. It is necessary to inform them; otherwise, they might fall in the hands of the ‘wrong people’,” Nitish said.
He particularly emphasised his government’s achievements in healthcare, education and law and order. “Before 2005, only around 80 people visited primary health centres per month. Now the numbers are over 10,000,” he claimed.
On the education sector, he said, “When I came to power, the number of girls appearing in Class X exams was just 1.7 lakh, and in the last Class X exams, the number of girls outnumbered the boys. I ensured that everyone gets to go to school.”
He was particularly scathing about the law and order situation during the Lal-Rabri regime, calling it ‘jungle raj’. “Ask people if they dared to come out of their homes during the night,” he said, addressing the youth.
Towards the fag end of his speech, Nitish added a new arsenal to his armoury. In an apparent departure from his practice of not raking up personal issues of political opponents, the JD(U) chief raised the issue of alleged misbehaviour done with Aishwarya Rai, the estranged wife of Lalu’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav.
“Look at the kind of treatment they meted out to the granddaughter of a great politician and former Bihar CM Daroga Prasad Rai.”
Aishwarya’s father Chandrika, who has recently joined the JD(U), had won the 2015 assembly poll from Parsa seat on RJD symbol and also became a minister in the grand alliance government.
Referring to Aishwarya, Nitish said, “She is a well-educated woman. Look what kind of treatment was meted out to her. People talk about education while selecting girls for marriage. Look what happened to this educated woman. And she is the granddaughter of a great leader no less.”
In an attempt to attack RJD on its Muslim-Yadav core base, Nitish also referred to Jai Vardhan Yadav, the grandson of former Union minister Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav and Faraz Fatmi, the son of another former Union minister MAA Fatmi, who left RJD to join JD(U).
“What kind of treatment was meted out to the grandchildren of big politicians like Daroga Prasad Rai and Ram Lakhan Babu? Daroga Babu and Ram Lakhan Babu helped a lot to whom in politics? Why the son and the grandchildren of such great people are quitting their party?” Nitish said making a frontal attack on the Lalu-Rabri family.
On the coming assembly polls and its arrangements amid the Covid pandemic, Nitish said it was the Election Commission’s call on how to hold the election. “But in a democracy, the public is the ultimate master. They will decide to whom the voters will allow serving for the next five years,” Nitish added.
“If given another opportunity to serve, I will ensure irrigation water to all farmland and a strong network of roads in rural areas to connect the one village to others as well as connect the village roads to the nearby state highways and national highways,” the JD(U) chief promised.