New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday excoriated the opposition over the Pulwama attack after Pakistan’s admission of complicity in it, saying it has “taken masks off” the faces of those in India who never cared for the “sons of Bihar” who lost their lives in the assault.
Addressing an election rally in Chapra, he also sought to appeal to Bihari sensitivities by speaking about ”chhath” puja, saying their “son” will ensure that kitchen fires are kept burning despite the COVID pandemic.
A few days ago, our neighbour confessed to its involvement in the Pulwama terror attack,” PM Modi said referring to a statement made on the floor of Pakistan National Assembly by minister Fawad Chaudhry who credited Premier Imran Khan for the “success in Pulwama” where “humne Hindustan ko ghar mein ghus kar maara (we hit India on its own soil)”.
“The admission has also taken the masks off our opponents who never actually cared for the lives we lost in the suicide attack which killed many sons of Bihar. They have always been more preoccupied with their political gains,” said
PM Modi referring to the questions that were raised about the Balakot air strikes that followed the terrorist strike.
He asked the electorate to “beware of such elements” who are seeking their votes.
PM Modi also berated the RJD-Congress combine in Bihar, calling it an alliance of “double-double yuvraj” (two crown princes) whose sole concern was to protect their “respective thrones”.
The prime minister also referred to a video, which has gone viral on the social media, where an old village woman snaps at a journalist who poses her the question “what has Modi done for you?.
“I was impressed when the woman fluently spoke about the welfare measures undertaken by our government and hurled the counter question when Modi has done so much for us, do you expect us to vote for you and not for him? She expressed the sentiment shared by most voters of Bihar,” PM Modi said.
He said the turnout in the first phase of poll proved pundits wrong and suggested that the NDA was set to return to power again.
“This has left our opponents frustrated. They have started pushing and shoving their own supporters,” said PM Modi in a veiled reference to a recent video of Tejashwi Yadav where he grabbed a supporter by the arm and pushed him aside.
PM Modi also raked up the issue of “ill treatment and insult” to former union minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh by the family of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad which ultimately led to the founding member quitting the party a day before his death.
Although Singh, a hugely respected leader, belonged to the neighboring Vaishali district, the treatment meted out to him is said to have angered his fellow Rajputs who have a sizeable presence in Chapra.
Harping on the alleged lawlessness under the Lalu-Rabri governments, PM Modi referred to the folklore about “lakadsunghwa”, a mysterious child-lifter against whom parents used to warn their children to prevent them from stepping out of homes after dark.
