The Congress on Monday once again tried to corner Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party over the reported absence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at the PM’s election campaign events. Addressing a press conference in Patna today, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge asked why the Janata Dal (United) leader was absent from PM Modi’s roadshow in the state capital yesterday.
“There was a road show here yesterday. I saw a lot of photos, with impressive photos (of PM Modi). I didn’t see Nitish with him. Even at the rally, Nitish was nowhere to be seen. They (the BJP) made him disappear to the point where they wouldn’t even mention him as Chief Minister. So, this is what is going on,” the senior Congress leader alleged.
Kharge accused the PM of playing tricks and cornering Nitish Kumar from campaign events.
“What will happen after this election? I can’t predict, but PM Modi is playing a trick. He’s trying to make Nitish Kumar invisible… Nitish Kumar thinks he’s been sworn in as Chief Minister nine times and will be this time too. You may have sworn in a hundred times, yet you haven’t done anything for Bihar,” he said.
Kharge also hit out at Nitish, alleging his government had done nothing for Bihar and he and PM Modi were trying to mislead the people of the poll-bound state.
“Nitish Kumar deposited 10,000 rupees into women’s accounts. They think they will get votes because of this. The people of Bihar are smart. Forget Rs 10,000, even if you deposit 10 lakh rupees, they will vote after thinking about it. Giving 10,000 rupees to women didn’t cross their minds for 20 years? And didn’t it cross PM Modi’s mind for 11 years? These are all election promises… PM Modi and his friend Nitish Kumar are misleading people,” the Congress president alleged.
“They have made Bihar miserable. They have ruined the schools. We don’t have teachers and there are no jobs in the entire country today. 50 lakh jobs are vacant in universities, police, central police, railways and in the Government of India. They should recruit people. They are not recruiting and here they are talking about one crore jobs. That’s why this time, people will teach a lesson to such liars. Bihar is a politically conscious state. There may be poverty and unemployment here, but politically, everyone is very smart. They know when to vote, how to vote, and whom to vote for,” he added.
