Patna, October 16: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has entered the electoral fray for the Bihar Assembly elections.
He held his second public meeting in Saharsa on Thursday.
Yogi Adityanath said that when the Bihar is gaining recognition for its metro, rail connectivity, highways, expressways, airports, and waterways, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress have launched a campaign to tarnish this recognition, claiming they want burqas, not development. This is to rob the poor and Dalits of their rights by rigging elections. They are not talking about development in the elections.
He said that Bihar will not go back to the old lantern era; Nitish Kumar (Chief Minister Nitish Kumar) has already taken it forward in the floodlights of LEDs.
At his nomination rally here, Yogi Adityanath appealed for the victory of BJP candidate Alok Ranjan Jha from Saharsa Assembly constituency, National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Ratnesh Sada from Sonbarsa, Gunjeshwar Shah from Maheshpur, and Sanjay Singh (LJP) from Simri Bakhtiyarpur.
Targeting both opposition parties, Yogi said, “They will allow fake votes to be cast, but they won’t allow their faces to be cast. They will go abroad on pilgrimages, show their faces at airports, and even show their passport photos, but when voting in Bihar, they will say, ‘Don’t disturb the burqa, don’t show your face, let fake votes be cast.’ The Congress and RJD are again conspiring to rob the rights of the poor. Their plot must not be allowed to succeed, as it was the Congress and RJD that created an identity crisis for Bihar.
Attacking the Congress, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi said, “During their rule, they insulted India and spread anarchy through infiltration. The RJD developed its own family, not Bihar. The NDA thinks for the whole of India.” In the past 20 years, under Nitish Kumar’s leadership, Bihar has reached new heights of development. Development in Bihar is progressing with a new aura. The flood problem is being resolved. Now, the poor benefit from schemes. Previously, this was divided between the Congress-RJD and their partners.
Yogi said that whenever the opportunity arose, we have worked to innovate in Uttar Pradesh, inspired by great men.
He mentioned Jayaprakash Narayan’s birthplace (Sitabdiara) and said that we built his sacred memorial. When our government came to power in 2017, we named a hospital after his wife. We established a National Law University in Prayagraj, named after Dr. Rajendra Prasad. The double-engine BJP government of Uttar Pradesh is working with you to improve Ayodhya’s connectivity via the Ram Janaki Marg from Ayodhya to Sitamarhi.
He said that Bihar has a rich heritage. If democracy is threatened, a JP from Bihar will rise to defend it. Bihar gave birth to Dr Rajendra Prasad, who became the country’s first President. In independent India, there was talk of restoring the Somnath Temple. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru had said he would not go, but Dr Rajendra Prasad said, “I will go because I need to present India’s cultural and new aura to the global world.” Congress may oppose it, but as President, it is my responsibility to respect India’s faith. Rajendra Prasad visited the land of Somnath.
He said that India’s faith will be respected and its heritage preserved. Heritage will strengthen the foundation of development.