My father stopped Advani’s rath, Nitish Kumar will stop Modi rath in 2024, says Tejashwi

‘The grand alliance talks about real issues of the masses, while the BJP leaders speak of temple, mosque, Hindus, Muslims, and poisoned society with their hate speeches’

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav. | Photo Credit: PTI

A day after the announcement of the Opposition meet on June 23, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said on Thursday that the way his father Lalu Prasad stopped the rath (chariot) of Lal Krishna Advani in Bihar, the Opposition parties led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will stop the rath of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2024.

It was in 1990 that Lalu Prasad, the then Chief Minister of Bihar, stopped Mr. Advani’s Rath Yatra in Sitamarhi, citing threat to communal harmony, and ordered his arrest. The yatra was to culminate in Ayodhya.

 “We all know very well the conspiracies against us but let me say that the way Laluji stopped the rath of Advaniji in Bihar, now the Mahagathbandhan government led by Nitishji will stop the rath of Narendra Modiji in 2024 [Lok Sabha election],“ Mr. Yadav said at a weavers’ cooperative union function here.

On Wednesday, Janata Dal (United) president Rajiv Ranjan, alias Lalan Singh, and Mr. Yadav announced that the Opposition meet would take place in Patna on June 23. Most of the Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, will attend the meet, an initiative by Mr. Kumar.

Stating that all possible efforts were being taken by the Bihar Chief Minister to unite the Opposition, Mr. Yadav said that if the BJP came to power, the country would be sold. Without naming anyone, Mr. Yadav claimed that “two people are selling the country and two are buying it”.

‘Democracy in danger’

Mr. Yadav alleged that attempts were being made by the Centre to change the history of the country. He also termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi a dictator. “It seems a dictator is sitting on the throne and giving orders to implement his thoughts without thinking if his orders are right or wrong, constitutional or unconstitutional. In totality, democracy is in danger. Attempts are being made to manipulate the Constitution. The promises of two crore jobs, Smart City and doubling the farmer’s income – not a single promise has been fulfilled by the Modi government,” Mr. Yadav said.

He pointed out that while the grand alliance spoke of real issues of the masses, the BJP leaders talked about temple, mosque, Hindus and Muslims. Mr. Yadav accused the BJP leaders of poisoning society with their hate speeches. 

Slamming the saffron party, Mr. Yadav alleged that the BJP wanted to take away the voting rights of Muslims. “Till the government of Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar exists, nobody can dare to do such things,” he said at the programme of Bihar State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Union Limited, mostly attended by Muslim weavers belonging to the Jolaha, Tanti and Ansari communities.

Taking a jibe at the PM, Mr. Yadav said that instead of asking people to vote in the name of Lord Hanuman during the recently concluded Karnataka Assembly election, he should have asked the people to vote on the basis of employment opportunities and other projects.

Addressing a public meeting in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, Mr. Modi had said that Congress and its leaders hated and abused him because he had crashed their corrupt system. He asked the people of Karnataka to punish the abuser by saying Jai Bajrangbali while voting.