Congress leader claims BJP, RSS trying to divide the nation and vows INDIA bloc will form the next Bihar government
Kishanganj: As campaigning for the second phase of polling in Bihar concluded on Sunday, leaders of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc made their final appeals to voters. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah would eventually be caught for “vote theft,” while Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav urged voters to give him a chance to fulfil his promises.
Addressing rallies in Kishanganj and Purnea, Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP and RSS of trying to divide the country, claiming that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc was working to unite it.
“Modi, Shah, and the Election Commission have no answers to our ‘vote chori’ (vote theft) allegations. The truth is now before the people. They can go anywhere they like, but they will eventually be caught for indulging in vote theft,” he said.
Gandhi added, “I recently exposed large-scale vote theft in Haryana, which has around two crore voters, with 25 lakh fake names in the electoral roll. Till today, neither Modi nor Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has had the courage to say I am lying.”
The Congress leader asserted that the Mahagathbandhan was certain to form the next government in Bihar. “There is a 100 per cent chance of victory. But you must prevent the BJP from stealing votes. Stay vigilant at polling stations on November 11. It is now the duty of every youth, worker, and farmer to stop vote theft in Bihar,” he said.
Speaking in Bihar’s Seemanchal region, which has a large Muslim population, Gandhi said the BJP and RSS were pursuing a divisive agenda to distract people from the issue of vote manipulation. “Modi and Shah are scared of the people’s voice. They have betrayed the soul of India. They are bound to be caught,” he said.
Criticising Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Gandhi said, “In 20 years, Nitish Kumar has failed to set up food processing units in a state with abundant fish and makhana harvests. He does not want employment for Bihar’s youth, who do not want to remain labourers.”
He added, “I can say with certainty that the BJP-led government will not return to power. Nitish Kumar will never head another government in Bihar.”
At Karakat in Rohtas district, Tejashwi Yadav, who turned 36 on Sunday, promised a “return gift” to supporters if the Mahagathbandhan formed the government. “You have given the NDA 20 years. Give me just 20 months, and I will prove myself,” he said.
Calling the NDA government “dishonest,” Yadav pledged to implement the Mai-Behan Maan Yojana, under which Rs 30,000 would be deposited into the bank accounts of all women in Bihar on January 14.
He also promised LPG cylinders at Rs 500, an increase in old-age and widow pensions to Rs 1,500 per month, one government job per household, free electricity for irrigation, and exemption for toddy from the prohibition law for the Pasi community.
Sunday marked the final day of campaigning for the second phase of the Bihar Assembly elections. Polling for 122 constituencies will be held on November 11.
