Patna, July 17: The RJD has said it would take on the BJP's hi-tech raths with tongas.
On Thursday, the BJP launched 160 such propaganda vehicles that would fan out to different corners of the state to spread the word about the party and to expose the "unholy alliance" between the RJD and the ruling JDU ahead of Assembly elections in Bihar.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Friday said he would flag off 1,000 tongas from Gandhi Maidan to counter the BJP's propaganda campaign. The date has not been finalised yet. Just last month, Lalu had asked two of his MPs - Jai Prakash Yadav (Banka) and Shailesh Kumar alias Bulo Mandal (Bhagalpur) - to arrange for tongas in all constituencies of Bhagalpur division. According to Lalu, they are the best mode of transport to reach out to every village and campaign against the BJP.
On Friday, Lalu said: "BJP is a rich party but we are not going to be bogged down by its financial might. Our time-tested tongas would be enough to defeat the BJP's evil designs," Lalu told a gathering of Turaha caste people on Friday. Turahas belong to the extremely backward classes (EBCs) and constitute about 30 per cent of voters in Bihar.
After coming to power in 2005, Nitish worked hard to make a vote bank among the EBCs. His work paid rich dividends in 2010 Assembly polls. But during last year's Lok Sabha elections, a good chunk of EBC votes went to the BJP. Since then the BJP is trying to retain them and the JDU and RJD to get them back.
Lalu said: "The tongas will not run on four-lane roads, they would roam in villages and blocks where our leaders will sit with a microphone to announce and make people aware about the evil mind of the BJP. The leaders must pay these tongas Rs 500 every day."
Lalu announced he would sit on a daylong hunger strike on July 26 and called a Bihar bandh the next day in protest against withholding of caste census report.
He also took a dig at Union finance minister Arun Jaitley who said a committee has been set up to collate the caste count and classify the castes and sub-castes into broader socio-economic categories before making the data public. "When I raised the issue to make the data public, the Centre was totally shaken up and decided to make data public. Their game plan is something else and I will not let them succeed," Lalu tweeted (in Hindi).
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi when his Varanasi rally was called off after rain on Thursday, he tweeted: "Ganga maiya bhi dhokha kha chuki hai. Ab mat bolna maiya ne bulaya hai. Maiya ke pawan jaal ne do baar rodra roop dikha kar tikhi narajgi prakat ki hai "Mother Ganga, too, feels betrayed. Mother Ganga has shown its anger out of displeasure on being betrayed twice."
