RJD held gun to Congress’s head over CM face, claims PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at the Mahagathbandhan, alleging that the RJD coerced Congress into naming Tejashwi Yadav as the alliance’s Chief Ministerial candidate. He accused the opposition bloc of deceit and internal strife ahead of the Bihar election

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, took a jibe at the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ (RJD-Congress-Left) over the discord and divide within the alliance and claimed that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) held ‘katta’ (country-made gun) on its national ally Congress’s head, forcing the latter to accept Tejashwi Yadav as the Chief Ministerial candidate.

The startling charge came while PM Modi addressed a mega rally in Bihar’s Arrah district and pointed to intense wrangling and stand-off within the Mahagathbandhan before arriving at a seat-sharing agreement.

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Notably, the Grand Alliance’s seat-sharing agreement was marred by infighting and stern differences and was made public just a day before the withdrawal of nominations of candidates.

The reason was apparently a divide within the Grand Alliance over projecting a Chief Ministerial face ahead of the Bihar polls. While Congress remained reluctant, RJD was insistent on declaring Tejashwi as the alliance’s Chief Ministerial candidate.

Addressing the large public gathering, PM Modi said, “I am telling you a secret about the fighting that took place in Mahagathbandhan, a day before withdrawal of nominations.” He added that there has been a fierce feud within the Mahagathbandhan, with both the Congress and RJD trying to outdo each other.

He said that the Congress never wanted the RJD leader’s name to be finalised as the Chief Ministerial candidate, but the RJD stole the Chief Minister’s post by holding a gun to the Congress’s head.

PM Modi also added, “The hatred has increased so much that even after the elections, they will start beating each other’s heads. So always remember, such people can never do any good to Bihar.”

Further raking up “Jungle Raj” of the RJD era and drawing a contrast with that of NDA, the Prime Minister said, “The NDA has presented an honest and visionary manifesto for the development of Bihar. Every promise, every plan is dedicated to Bihar’s rapid development.”

“On one side is the NDA’s honest manifesto, and on the other are the ‘Jungle Raj’ folks. They have turned their manifesto into a document of lies, deceit, and throwing dust in the people’s eyes,” he added.