Uncomfortable questions related to the Manipur flare-up, alleged misuse of investigative agencies and the wrestlers’ protest greeted Union home minister Amit Shah as he flew into Bihar for a rally.
Billboards were put up in Patna, where Shah landed, welcoming the BJP leader to “the land of peace and harmony” and seeking to know why Manipur was burning and till when he would indulge in the “politics of cowardice” by using central agencies like the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate to target rivals.
They also asked “why Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has molested women wrestlers, is being protected” and why Bihar was not being accorded special category status.
No person or organisation has come forward so far to claim ownership of the billboards and posters, which came up mostly in central Patna.
Shah had come to Bihar to address a public meeting at Lakhisarai district to boost the BJP’s preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, especially after the Opposition unity meeting chaired by chief minister Nitish Kumar on June 23. The entire top brass of the party in the state, including Bihar BJP president Samrat Choudhary and Union minister Giriraj Singh, were present at Shah’s rally.
Lakhisarai comes under the Munger Lok Sabha constituency represented by JDU national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh aka Lalan Singh.
Asserting that Bihar was the land of Jai Prakash Narayan and the place from where the movement against corruption started, Shah attacked Nitish for spearheading the efforts to unite the Opposition.
“Nitish babu, you should be ashamed of trying to capture power (at the Centre) by sitting together with the Congress, Lalu Prasad and Arvind Kejriwal, who have indulged in scams, fraud and corruption of Rs 20 lakh crore,” Shah said.
“Your political origin lies in opposing the corruption of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, while your political rise was against the corruption of Lalu Prasad and his fodder scam. How will you face the public now?” the BJP leader added.
Lobbing a question to the people assembled at the meeting, the Union home minister asked whether a leader who changes allegiance often could be trusted and allowed to rule Bihar.
As the crowd answered in the negative, Shah pointed out that Nitish was sitting at the doorstep of the Congress to become Prime Minister.
“However, he will not become anything. He is fooling Laluji. He just wants to stay on as chief minister,” Shah added.
