Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday targeted RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad for “insulting” Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar and heaped praise on chief minister Nitish Kumar for steering Bihar out of “jungle raaj”, seeking to set the tone for the NDA campaign in the poll-bound state.
Addressing a rally in Siwan, his fourth so far in the election year, Modi obliquely referred to the controversy over a video of Lalu’s birthday celebrations last week. The video showed a party worker greeting Lalu and placing a portrait of Ambedkar on a table on which the RJD boss had rested his feet.
The BJP had seized on the video to slam Lalu for “insulting” the Father of the Constitution. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes had written to the Bihar chief secretary and police chief.
“The RJD and the Congress insult Babasaheb at every step. The whole country has seen how RJD people treated Babasaheb’s photo,” Modi told the rally without naming Lalu. “The RJD and the Congress keep the picture of Babasaheb Ambedkar at their feet, whereas Modi keeps Babasaheb in his heart,” he added.
Modi has been going out of his way to draw attention to his commitment towards Ambedkar ever since his “400-plus seats” slogan in the last general election received a snub, bringing the BJP below the majority mark in the Lok Sabha.
He said the RJD would never apologise for insulting Ambedkar because they had no respect for Dalits and the backward classes. “But the people of Bihar will never forgive them,” Modi said.
Later in the day, Lalu put up an AI video on X, captioning it: “Weather warning in Bihar’s interest. Today, Bihar is experiencing heavy rainfall of lies, empty rhetoric and confusion, with thunderous false promises hailing down. Stay cautious.”
Modi was addressing the rally after inaugurating and laying foundations for development projects, seeking to showcase his commitment to develop the backward state while taking swipes at the Opposition to prepare for the polls in October-November.
He sought to use the Ambedkar portrait row to corner the Opposition RJD-Congress-Left bloc on their core social justice plank. The Opposition has been desperately trying to expand its base among the non-Yadav marginalised castes and Dalits.
Modi also accused the Opposition of indulging in dynasty politics, saying Ambedkar was firmly opposed to this. “But for the RJD and the Congress, their parivar is everything. I say ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’. But the ‘laalten’ (RJD symbol) and ‘panja’ (Congress symbol) leaders say: ‘Parivar ka saath, parivar ka vikas’.”
“Bihar, which had led the progress of India for centuries, was made a symbol of migration under the RJD and the Congress… These people have been the nurturers of poor infrastructure, mafia raj, gunda raj and corruption,” Modi said.
Praise for Nitish
Modi heaped praise on ally Nitish Kumar while addressing the rally, obliquely endorsing the BJP’s decision to go to the polls under the JDU leader despite concern over his health.
The Prime Minister credited Nitish with steering Bihar out of the “jungle” and “mafia raaj” under the previous “laalten and panja” rule and putting it on the path of development. Modi said Nitish had laid the foundation in Bihar and now the NDA would launch the state on the path of rapid progress.
“The good work done by Nitishji has laid the foundation. The launch pad is ready; now the NDA has come together to give Bihar a new boost of progress,” he said. Nitish hailed Modi for his government’s decision to conduct caste enumeration along with the census.