Siwan (Bihar): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday slammed the RJD for allegedly insulting Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar and asserted that the people of Bihar would not tolerate any disrespect to the Dalit icon.
At a rally in Siwan district, which marked his fifth visit this year to the state and second in less than a month, Modi hailed the “big role” played by Bihar in India’s emergence as the “third largest economy” of the world.
In a nearly 45-minute-long speech that followed the launch of projects worth more than Rs 5,900 crore and the flagging off of a Vande Bharat train, the Prime Minister cautioned the people against “attempts to recapture economic resources of Bihar” by the RJD-led opposition in the assembly polls due later this year.
“Ambedkar was against dynasty rule. But they (RJD and its allies) do not like it. So they have his portrait placed at their feet. On my way, I saw posters demanding an apology for this insult to Babasaheb,” said Modi.
He added, “But there has been no apology. This is because they hold Dalits in contempt. In contrast, Modi has Babasaheb in his heart and would like to keep his portrait close to his chest”.
Modi, who did not mention RJD chief Lalu Prasad by name, referred to the instance of a portrait of Ambedkar being placed close to the feet of the ailing septuagenarian, for which he (Prasad) has been drawing flak from the BJP-led NDA.
“The reason is that the RJD-Congress people have little respect for people belonging to the deprived castes, the Dalits, the OBCs and the EBCs. They consider themselves above Babasaheb Ambedkar. But they must remember that the disrespect to Babasaheb Ambedkar will not be forgiven by the people of Bihar,” the PM said.
Modi also asserted that the world was greatly impressed with India’s progress and underscored Bihar’s big role in the country’s emergence as the world’s “third largest economy”.
“You all know I have returned from abroad only yesterday. During my tour, I met many leaders of the developed world. They all were greatly impressed with the rate of progress in India. They are watching India becoming the third-largest economy in the world. In this, Bihar will definitely play a big role,” said the PM.
In the last 11 years, the NDA government at the Centre has devoted itself to removing every hurdle that stands in the way of the poor, he said.
“We will continue to make such efforts. The hard work has yielded handsome results,” the PM said.
In the past decade, a record number of 25 crore Indians have defeated poverty, and this feat of India is being lauded by renowned institutions like the World Bank, he said.
“In this national accomplishment, Bihar and the government headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have played a significant role,” said Modi.
The PM also said a “prosperous” Bihar will help the country prosper.
Training his guns at the opposition INDIA bloc, he said, “Beware, those responsible for jungle raj are looking for another opportunity to wreak havoc like they had once done.”
They are playing various tricks to ensure that they recapture the state’s economic resources, claimed Modi, in an apparent reference to several populist promises made by the RJD and its ally Congress in the run-up to the assembly polls.
“Unlike the NDA, which worked for development of all with support of all (‘sabka saath sabka vikas’), the opposition stood for family rule (‘parivar ka saath, parivar ka vikas’), which was against the spirit of the Constitution, given to us by Babasaheb Ambedkar”, Modi claimed.
“This is the reason why the Congress-RJD people have portraits of Babasaheb Ambedkar placed at their feet. In contrast, Modi keeps Babasaheb Ambedkar in his heart,” remarked the Prime Minister.
Modi, who reached the venue perched atop an open vehicle, flanked on either side by Nitish Kumar, who heads the JD(U), and Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, both from the BJP.
The chief minister, whose speech preceded that of the PM, showered praises on Modi for ordering a caste census, which the JD(U) boss had been demanding for long, and called upon the audience to rise in their seats as a mark of gratitude.
In keeping with his penchant for adding local flavour to his speeches, Modi began his address by greeting the people in the local dialect of Bhojpuri and paying tributes to the first President Rajendra Prasad, who hailed from Siwan, and legendary socialist leader Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan, who belonged to the adjoining district of Saran.
The function saw the launch of projects worth more than Rs 5,900 crore by the PM, who also flagged off a Vande Bharat train that would run between Pataliputra Junction in the state capital and Gorakhpur in adjoining Uttar Pradesh.
These development projects will take Bihar towards a bright future and make the state prosperous, said the PM.
Declined Trump’s invite to US for coming to land of Lord Jagannath: PM Modi in Odisha
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he had declined an invitation from US President Donald Trump to visit Washington, and instead chose to come to Odisha, the sacred land of Lord Jagannath.
Addressing a rally in Bhubaneswar, Modi said, “I was in Canada for the G7 Summit when US President Trump had called me and invited me to Washington for a discussion and lunch. I thanked him for the invitation, saying I have to visit Odisha, the land of Lord Jagannath. I humbly rejected his invitation.”
Modi had on Tuesday declined Trump’s invitation to visit the US while returning from Canada, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a statement on the Modi-Trump phone call.
According to Misri’s statement, Modi said he could not accept the invitation due to a pre-existing schedule, and invited Trump to visit India for the Quad Summit, likely later this year.
The two leaders were scheduled to meet in Canada on the sidelines of the G7 Summit.
However, the US President left the meeting midway amidst rising hostilities between Israel and Iran.
Modi participated in the first anniversary function of the BJP’s maiden government in Odisha during the day and launched development projects worth over Rs 18,600 crore.
