Sitamarhi (Bihar), Aug 8 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday charged the opposition RJD-Congress combine in Bihar with trying to “protect” its vote bank of “infiltrators from Bangladesh” by criticising the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Shah was addressing a rally in Sitamarhi district of Bihar, shortly after he laid the foundation stone for a nearly Rs 900 crore project for giving a facelift to “Punaura Dham”, a shrine situated at the place where goddess Sita is believed to have been discovered by King Janaka.
“The special intensive revision has taken place many a time before. But never did Rahul Gandhi or (RJD president ) Lalu Prasad criticise the exercise. They are opposing it now. The reason is they want to protect their vote bank,” said the former BJP president.
The special intensive revision is needed to remove from the voters’ list names of infiltrators who came illegally from Bangladesh and eat up the jobs on which the youth of Bihar have a legitimate claim, he said, alleging that Rahul Gandhi and Lalu Prasad want to protect such illegal voters.
“Should the names of infiltrators not be knocked off the electoral rolls? Rahul Gandhi loves to brandish a copy of the Constitution at the drop of a hat. He should thoroughly read the Constitution which clearly states that those who are not citizens of the country have no right to vote,” Shah said.
The Union home minister also mocked the opposition parties for failing to “come up with a single claim or objection” regarding wrongful deletion of genuine voters or inclusion of those who were not eligible to vote.
Notably, as part of the SIR, the Election Commission last week came out with its “draft electoral rolls”, dropping names of more than 65 lakh voters who had either died, or migrated to some other state permanently or were enrolled as voters at more than one place.
Widely regarded as the BJP’s principal strategist, Shah claimed that he foresaw “a certain victory for the NDA in Bihar”, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) president, who was present on the occasion.
“It appears that the opposition realises that it is staring at a defeat in the upcoming assembly polls. So they are trying to come up with ways to explain it away. Their vehement criticism of the special intensive revision is just such an attempt”, added the BJP leader.
The Union home minister also charged the RJD-Congress combine with having “opposed” inside Parliament Operation Sindoor, launched in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.
“The previous Congress governments were unable to contain terror. Terrorists would strike at will and return to their hideouts unharmed. But things changed with the BJP assuming power and Narendra Modi becoming the Prime Minister,” claimed Shah.
“Uri was followed by surgical strikes. Balakot airstrikes came as a response to Pulwama. And we beat the perpetrators inside their homes when they dared to carry out the Pahalgam terror attack,” he said.
The function was also marked by the flagging off of an Amrit Bharat train connecting Sitamarhi to Delhi.
In his speech, Shah also said that the Modi government, in the last couple of years, has launched “railway projects for Bihar worth over Rs 10,000 crore, in contrast with the UPA regime, in which Lalu Prasad was the Railway Minister, and just about Rs 1,000 crore were spent on the state”.
Known to be the closest aide of the Prime Minister, Shah also underscored the respect Modi has for the cultural heritage of Bihar, recalling instances of the latter presenting specimens of “Madhubani paintings” to visiting foreign dignitaries.
Striking a chord with the public which attended the programme braving heavy rains, he said, “Legend has it that King Janaka was tilling the land here with a golden plough as he was told that it would bring rains to the drought-ridden area. Heavens opened up as soon as he discovered Sita Mata.
“And what a coincidence it is that we have a downpour on a day we have launched a project devoted to the goddess, which is in line with the Indian ethos that has always put women on a pedestal”.
The rally was also attended by several senior leaders of the NDA in Bihar, including Union and state ministers and members of Parliament.
