Tell Bihar voters that infiltration to be rampant if INDIA bloc comes to power: Shah to BJP workers

Dehri-on-Sone (Bihar), Sep 18 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday asked BJP workers in Bihar to counter the INDIA bloc’s “false narrative” of vote theft by cautioning the people that rampant “infiltration is likely" if the opposition coalition comes to power.

The former BJP president tore into the Congress, RJD, and the Left combine while addressing a saffron party workers’ conclave here, about 50 km from the state capital, weeks ahead of the assembly elections.

Shah asked the cadre to aim at “not just a simple victory but a massive two-thirds majority” in the upcoming polls to the 243-strong Bihar assembly.

Referring to the “Voter Adhikar Yatra” of Rahul Gandhi, which concluded last month, Shah alleged, "You (BJP workers) know what was its aim? It was to protect infiltrators from Bangladesh." "Should the infiltrators have the right to vote in our country? Should they have access to all the benefits that the citizens enjoy?," asked the home minister, evoking roars of a resounding "no" from the attendees.

Shah alleged, "Rahul baba and company want the infiltrators, who are their vote bank, to be given jobs meant for our youths, pucca houses and free medical treatment we provide our citizens with." “You (BJP workers) must fan out across the state, visit every house, and tell the people that if they (INDIA bloc parties) come to power, even by fluke, every district in Bihar will be teeming with infiltrators," said Shah, widely regarded as the BJP’s principal strategist.

He also termed as a “false narrative” Gandhi’s allegation of vote theft, pointing out that “they (opposition parties) had taken recourse to similar tactics earlier when they had alleged that we were out to scrap reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs”.

“Have the quotas for SCs, STs and OBCs been tinkered with? I can assure you that as long as there is even one BJP member in Parliament, reservations cannot be scrapped," said Shah.

The remarks may be seen in the backdrop of attempts by the BJP, traditionally seen as “a party of the upper castes”, to reach out to the numerically powerful deprived castes.

Shah began his more-than-20-minute-long speech by recalling a conversation he had with a journalist earlier in the day over the telephone.

“I was asked why I was holding a workers’ conclave instead of a rally where the common people could come? I replied that this is because, unlike the other parties, which depend on leaders for winning elections, ours is a workers-driven organisation," he said.

Shah said it is only in the BJP that a grassroots worker can aspire to rise to the top.

"I had myself started off as a booth-level worker and went on to become the national president," he said.

The workers present at the conclave were drawn from 10 districts of the Magadh-Shahabad region.

Shah noted with concern that the NDA’s performance in the last assembly polls was “not up to the mark” and exhorted the party workers to ensure “an 80 per cent strike rate for ourselves as well as our alliance partners”.

Calling upon the party workers to ensure the victory of the NDA, led in the state by Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, Shah also underscored that Bihar had reaped “the maximum benefits” of schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, like the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and the Jan Dhan bank accounts.

He also lauded the chief minister for recent populist measures like making 125 units of power available free of cost every month.

Shah said, in a veiled reference to Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, “Our leader (Modi) is someone who works for the people without ever going on a holiday. In sharp contrast with others who tend to grow restless unless they enjoy a trip abroad every six months. And you know who I am talking about." PTI NAC BDC