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At rallies in Katihar and Saharsa, PM Modi also branded the RJD and Congress as “most corrupt families”.

Katihar/Saharsa: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday claimed that the INDIA bloc’s CM candidate Tejashwi Yadav was trying to “hide the sins” of his father Lalu Prasad, relegating his pictures to the corner of RJD’s poll posters.

The PM remarked at a rally in Katihar district, where he did not mention the father-son duo by their names but used the expression “jungle raj ke yuvraaj” (crown prince of lawlessness) to point towards Yadav.

“What is sin he is hiding by not having the pictures of his own father, whom you claim to be such a tall leader and was a CM for years, on RJD posters? Perhaps it is because he has become aware that the big leader carries the baggage of jungle raj,” he alleged.

The PM also alleged that while the RJD was controlled by “the most corrupt family in Bihar”, its ally Congress was run by “the most corrupt family in the country”. In an attempt to drive a wedge between the two allies, Modi reiterated that the Congress agreed to name Yadav the CM candidate when the RJD “put a katta (country-made gun) on its head”, and claimed that the grand old party was trying its best to ensure that its ally was drubbed in the assembly polls.

“Congress leaders are distancing themselves from promises made in the joint manifesto, saying the RJD should explain. They have been inviting CMs of Telangana and Tamil Nadu, known for deriding Biharis, to the state with the hope that it will lead to a resentment against their ally as well, causing it to lose the elections,” he alleged.

Earlier, addressing a rally in Saharsa, Modi charged the RJD with having stalled development projects in Bihar by putting pressure on the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre to “avenge” its ouster from power in the State in 2005.

“The RJD was sharing power at the Centre when it was voted out of power in Bihar in 2005. Projects like the Kosi Mahasetu had been sanctioned by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. So enraged was the RJD by Nitish Kumar forming a new government in the state that it put pressure on Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi and stalled all such projects in Bihar,” he alleged.

“The RJD can never understand the sufferings of the people of the Kosi region, which were alleviated through the construction of the bridge. We are also working on the interlinking of rivers. The NDA manifesto has also put forth a blueprint on flood control,” he alleged.

He claimed that while the NDA stands for ‘vikas’, the “jungle raj wallahs” (leaders of lawlessness) stood for ‘vinash’ (destruction). “They should be punished for their sins. It is time that you punish them in the assembly elections,” he said.

“The RJD is now making fake promises of development, but while in power, its leaders used to play truant by saying that constructing roads will lead to accidents, better power supply will increase the risk of electrocution. Even flooding used to be described as auspicious,” he claimed.

Speaking in an area which has a substantial Muslim population, Modi charged the RJD-Congress combine with being soft on “infiltrators” and disdainful towards the Ram temple at Ayodhya and Chhath Puja. “Infiltrators cannot be allowed to partake of the resources that are meant for people of our country.

The leaders of the RJD and Congress take time off to visit all types of places abroad, but not the Ram temple at Ayodhya,” he alleged. Modi alleged that efforts were on to change the demography of the Seemanchal region, and RJD and Congress were compromising national security for votes.

“Congress and RJD opposed the law against triple talaq and are now talking about scrapping the Waqf Amendment Act under pressure from extremists,” he alleged. Modi alleged that Congress and RJD jump in to protect infiltrators whenever the BJP takes steps to oust them.

Noting that the north Bihar region of Mithila was known, in ancient times, for female deities like Sita, Bharti, and Gargi, the PM said, “From this land of glorious women, I would like to congratulate our daughters who have made us proud by winning the Cricket World Cup.”

Highlighting the achievements by women in various walks of life, Modi said that those who made fun of the “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” slogan must be feeling mortified over having heaped so much scorn on the country’s women.

“To our mothers and sisters who have benefited from welfare schemes of the NDA, I would say, beware of the ‘jungle raj wallahs’; they intend to put a stop to all these measures upon coming to power,” he claimed.

Modi also highlighted the special regard he has had for Bihar and its specialities, and pointed towards a garland of makhana that was presented to him at the stage. “I gift makhana boxes to world leaders during foreign visits, and tell them this is the hard work of Bihar’s farmers,” he said.

The PM also sought to underscore the alleged lawlessness that prevailed during the RJD rule, saying that “even police personnel, who wanted to carry out their responsibilities conscientiously, were not safe. Those involved in building highways were killed. People from backward and extremely backward classes suffered atrocities. “DSP Satyapal Singh was murdered in Saharsa as he acted against lawlessness,” he added.

Without naming Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition, he said, “They are day-dreaming about forming the next government at the Centre and promising to set up a university at Nalanda, an ancient seat of learning, where foreigners would come to pursue education.” “The Congress has a habit of lying. I am telling you that a modern university has been built at Nalanda. When they were in power, a paltry sum of Rs 20 crore was sanctioned for the project, and then they forgot about it. After we came to power in 2014, we spent Rs 2,000 crore on it,” he claimed.