NDA to fight assembly polls under Bihar CM NitishKumar: Ami​t Shah

VAISHALI GARH: Union home minister Amit Shah here on Thursday said the NDA would fight the coming assembly election in Bihar under the leadership of chief minister Nitish Kumar.
Shah’s categorical statement, made in his first public speech in the state since last year’s Lok Sabha polls, is set to put at rest speculation about who would lead the NDA in the Bihar election.This comes close on the heels of a section of BJP leaders dropping hints about a change of leadership in the NDA, despite Shah’s earlier statement projecting Nitish as the ruling alliance’s CM face.
Speaking at well-attended pro-CAA rally, first by any top BJP leader in the state, Shah said, “BJP aur JD(U) ka gathbandhan atoot hai. The NDA government at the Centre is under PM Narendra Modi, while the state is under CM Nitish Kumar ji).”
The BJP national president, in a scathing attack on RJD, said, “The era of lantern (RJD’s poll symbol) is over. Humne pradesh ko lalten yug see LED yug mein laya hai.” Without naming RJD chief Lalu Prasad, he added, “Wo jail mein sapna dekh rahen hain. Unka apna CM banane ka sapna pura nahi hoga.”
Shah was generous in his praise for Nitish and gave the CM all credit for transforming the state from “jungle raj” to “janta raj”. He said Bihar’s growth rate was a meagre 3% when it was under RJD rule. “Now in 2020, the state’s growth rate is 11%,” he added.
Shah said the NDA government in the state would now work for providing piped drinking water to every household in the next five years. He added, “Electricity and gas connections have already been given to all households.”
Referring to the CAA, the home minister said, “I am overwhelmed by the response from Bihar. I have addressed a series of meetings, but Bihar is where I have got the maximum support on the CAA.” He added, “The CAA is all about giving citizenship to all those Hindus, Jains, Christians and Sikhs who faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.”
Shah said Muslims in the country need not worry about losing their citizenship. “Rumours are being spread and people are being misled on the issue,” he remarked, adding, “Opposition parties are doing this to people, especially Muslims, for political gains.” “Mat (vote) ke lalach mein mati (wisdom) kho diye hain,” he said.
The home minister accused 'tukde tukde gang' (opposition leaders) of “toeing the line” of Pakistan PM Imran Khan by “orchestrating violence” in the first three-four days of the passing of the CAA by Parliament. He warned, “Those who shout slogans like Bharat tere tukde honge will be taught a lesson."
Accusing Congress of adopting double standards on the CAA, Shah said the Congress in Rajasthan promised citizenship to such people in its election manifesto. “Jab wo bole toh thik aur hum bole to galat. Ye kahan ka nyay hai?” he asked.
In his 25-minute speech, Shah targeted Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Mamta Banerjee and Lalu Prasad for their “vote bank politics”. Holding Congress responsible for the plight of hundreds of refugees, he said the Indian government at the time of Partition did not take care of the rights of the lakhs of people who willingly stayed back in East and West Pakistan.
“While the number of minorities in Pakistan decreased, the population of minorities in India increased manifold,” Shah said, adding, “India never talked of Hindu Rashtra because of which all sects and religions flourished here.”
On the issue of building a temple at Ayodhya, Shah said a “sky-touching temple of Ram Lala” will be built there in the next four months. He highlighted the NDA government’s success in settling the issues of Article 370 and 35A in Jammu & Kashmir.