Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit back at rival Nitish Kumar’s “cinematic limerick”, which the Chief Minister had read out on Monday, and likened the Janata Dal (U) of Mr. Kumar and his two alliance partners, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, as “3 Idiots”, the name of an Aamir Khan-starrer Bollywood flick.
Slamming Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Mr. Modi asked her why she was keeping mum over the “bribery sting video tapes” of Janata Dal(U) and RJD MLAs.
“I knew they are three partners, but when Nitish Babu has to do his first poetic presentation before his select courtiers, he chose the film 3 Idiots … even if you wanted to parody a poem, why did he think of 3 Idiots ? I wonder at his sense of entertainment”, Mr. Modi said.
On Monday, Mr. Kumar had read out some lines from the title song of the film with “suitable changes” to mock Mr. Modi’s forgotten promises.
Addressing poll meetings at Sitamarhi, Bettiah and Motihari, Mr. Modi took on Mr. Kumar over his “cinematic limerick” and advised him to perfect the art, “which will come to his use after the Bihar polls”.
“These days, there is an intense rivalry going on between Lalu ji and Nitish ji on many issues — protecting criminals, doing nepotism, breaking off from truth, and now the competition is also in the field of entertainment,” he said.“What a game of entertainment, Nitish Babu! You still have a week’s time. You can recite such mushairas at your leisure time recalling your suffering and shedding tears,” Mr Modi taunted Mr. Kumar.
Referring to Mr. Kumar’s meeting with a tantric, shown in a video tape, he said, “Meeting with a tantrik is a sign of lack of confidence and such tantra-mantra (sorcery) will not save them from the imminent defeat in Bihar polls.”
Slamming the grand alliance, he referred to the recent video tapes of a sting operation in which some JD(U) and RJD MLAs were seen allegedly taking bribe, and asked, “Why has Madam Sonia Gandhi been keeping mum over all this corruption? Why is she not saying anything on her alliance partners?”
“Besides, why is Nitish Kumar, who earlier had declared that he would open government schools in seized properties of corrupt officials, not taking any action against these MLAs taking bribe? Has he the courage to seize the properties of Lalu Prasad, convicted by a court on a corruption charge and open schools in the seized property,” Mr. Modi asked.
He raised the issue of “ bahari (outsider) and Bihari,” which Mr. Kumar has been using in an oblique reference to Mr. Modi and himself. “Can a Prime Minister be a bahari ? ... Will a Chief Minister elected from Patna be considered a bahari in Bettiah?” he asked.
At the Motihari meeting, Mr. Modi reiterated his charge that “a ploy is being played out to divert five per cent reservation from Dalits, Mahadalits and Other Backward Classes for people of another community. Is it fair, will it be possible?”
He termed the Bihar poll a choice between “politics of development” and a “game of unholy alliance”.
