The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi addressed a massive rally in Bihar in which he took on his rivals Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav and was at his impressive oratorical best. Here are some of talking points from his speech in Muzaffarpur, Bihar:
Please Get Down
The speech began with Narendra Modi asking some people who were standing in precariously high places and asked them to get down, clearly remembering the reaction that followed Gajendra Singh's death at Arvind Kejriwal's AAP rally. He said: “When the new government comes you'll climb greater heights, but please get down right now.”
Caste politics: Mode On
Modi evoked the class-caste debate subtly by claiming that Nitish Kumar took away rice from a chaiwallah's son, referring to an incident in 2010 when Nitish Kumar rescinded dinner invitations sent to BJP leaders.
What had angered the Bihar CM were full-page ads in Hindi dailies thanking Narendra Modi for Rs 5 crore donations. He also hit out at the treatment meted out Jitan Ram Manjhi from JD (U) saying everything was taken away from a Mahadalit. He also said that there was something wrong with Nitish Kumar's political DNA. It was Modi's not so subtle effort to try to alter caste equations in the poll bound state.
The Snake and Poison Jibe
Hitting out at Nitish Kumar's comment about drinking poison to keep out the snake, Narendra Modi said: "There is no discussion on development, law and order etc but on snakes and poison. These two should sit and decide who is what." But they shouldn't force people of Bihar to drink poison.
RJD Ka matlab Rojana Jangal Raj Ka Dar
The jibes reached kindergarten level when Modi said that RJD stood for Rojana Jangal Raj Ka Dar. (Jungle Raj Every Day), although that wasn't as good as the time Modi reminded viewers of the time Nitish Kumar had promised the state electricity, failing which he wouldn't return to ask for votes. Modi asked the audience: “Bijli ayi, bijli ayi, bijli...” (Did you get electricity?)
About the breakup
Speaking about the break-up with Nitish Kumar, he said: “If you were angry with me, you could have slapped me, strangled me but why did you stop the development of the entire state?”
We will end Jungle Raj
Promising 24-hour electricity and gas pipelines, he also added that electricity would allow people to do fun stuff like watch Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (an obvious choice considered it stars the current Minister of Human Resources and Development) and charge their mobile phones. He also added that only the BJP could end Jungle Raj in the state.
Reminiscing about the good ol' times
Narendra Modi also remembered the old days when Nitish asked him not to come down to Bihar since they already had a Modi (Sushil Kumar Modi), but the times have changed now.
The PM also promised a special package for Bihar at the right time which would be more than Rs 50,000 crore and all said and done, this was one of his better speeches which showcased his oratorical skills. Watch the full speech below:
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