'Lalu Riha, Nitish Vida': At Nalanda Rally, Tejashwi Yadav Paints Bihar's 'Before and After Elections' Image

On a day when star campaigners and the national leaders like Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi appeared on the political turf of Bihar, which will see 71 of its constituencies go to polls in less than five days from now, unemployment remained the most hotly debated political issue.

The opposition led by Rahul Gandhi and Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav, took on the NDA on the issue of unemployment in Bihar, which in April this year saw a jump of over 30 percentage points, and was registered at 47.7%.

“Nitish Kumar says that because Bihar is landlocked, big industries can’t come here. When Laluji was the Chief Minister and brought jute mills, paper mills, railway factories, was there a sea surrounding Bihar? Nitishji says that there isn’t enough money to give salaries to 10 lakh government employees. Let me explain how it can be done,” Tejashwi said to a crowd in Nalanda’s Hilsa constituency.

“Bihar’s budget is Rs 2 lakh 13 thousand crore. The unspent funds of this budget are close to 40% or Rs 80,000 crore. This much money is enough to fund salaries of 10 lakh government employees and we will create these many jobs for the first time in the history of the country in the first cabinet meeting we hold after coming to power,” Tejashwi Yadav said to a roar from the crowd.

His father’s final bail case hearing on the 9th, Tejashwi said in his rallies on Friday. “Nau ko Laluji riha honge aur dus to Nitishji vida honge (On 9th November Lalu Yadav will be released and on 10th, the date of counting of polls, Nitish Kumar will make way),” Tejashwi said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in his rally in Kahalgaon also took on the union and state governments on the issue of unemployment. “Both Modiji and Nitshji showed you big dreams. They said they will change the country. But they didn’t say how. People thought that in the new India there will be no unemployment, farmers will be free, youth will be educated, but all this did not happened,” former Congress chief said.

“People were asked to make sacrifices for this idea of ‘New India’ repeatedly. From standing in queues when demonetisation was announced to suffering because of the new GST. Recently people were asked beat thalis and flash their mobile torches. But what changed? Did Modi rid India of corona in 22 days as he had promised?” Gandhi asked.

With the same insensitivity with which he takes these decisions, Rahul Gandhi said, Modi also announced demonetisation not giving even one day for the people of the country, including migrant labourers of Bihar, a chance to safely return to their homes.

“Narenda Modi and Nitish Kumar have broken the spine of the job creators of India – the farmers, traders, the small and medium businesses, which is why India is not in shape to give so many jobs to its youth today,” Gandhi said in his rally.