2/3rds majority for NDA in Bihar will be fitting tribute to Nehru on his birthday on Nov 14: Rajnath

Patna/Darbhanga, Oct 29 (PTI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said a two-thirds majority for the NDA in the 243-member Bihar assembly will be a fitting tribute to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his birthday on November 14, the day poll results will be announced.

Alluding to the RJD's rule in the state, he claimed that people of Bihar do not want "goonda raj".

"Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has largely been successful in undoing damage inflicted by RJD's 'jungle raj'," Singh said during a poll rally at Barh in Patna district.

He slammed the Congress and the RJD for attacking the Election Commission, and wondered "how will democracy run if constitutional bodies are defamed".

Alleging that the RJD has tarnished Bihar across the world, the defence minister said the issue of the assembly polls in the state was clear -- whether it will be taken back to the days of "jungle raj" or remain on the path of development.

Addressing an election rally in Darbhanga district earlier in the day, Singh slammed the RJD, alleging that it made an "unrealistic promise" of providing a government job to each household in the state.

"We will release our manifesto on Thursday and implement every single word in it," he said.

Singh said that no allegations of corruption can be levelled against CM Nitish Kumar, who governed the state for 20 years, while it was a matter of grief that the entire family of a former chief minister is accused of irregularities.

The BJP leader was apparently referring to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, who was convicted in the fodder scam cases and accused of being involved in a land-for-jobs scandal.

He asserted that under Nitish Kumar's leadership, Bihar's GDP stands at 14 per cent, placing it in the second position among all states in India. Singh also pointed out that the NDA government in Bihar is "carrying out a host of welfare policies for women".

Accusing the opposition parties in the state of making "false promises" of undoing amendments to the Waqf Act, he said they cannot do these, as the law was passed in Parliament.

Singh said his party, the BJP, does not indulge in politics of caste and religion, asserting that "we do fair and clean politics".

"Opposition parties want to secure votes of Bangladeshi infiltrators," he claimed.

The defence minister said Rs 15 lakh crore was allocated for the all-round development of the state in the last 11 years under the Narendra Modi government, vis-a-vis Rs 2 lakh crore given under the 10 years of UPA rule.

The Union minister highlighted that India has progressed from 11th position to 4th position in terms of economy "under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi", and in a few years, "will reach the third spot." "It was PM Modi, not Rahul Gandhi, who gave constitutional status to the OBC commission," he said.

Singh claimed that after "the Congress failed to award Bharat Ratna" to former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur for decades, it was the "Narendra Modi-led NDA government that bestowed the prestigious award upon the EBC icon." PTI SUK NAM SOM BDC BDC