Amit Shah vs Rahul Gandhi in Bihar: Key takeaways as BJP, Congress launch campaigns with sharp attacks

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi are both in Bihar today, rallying supporters ahead of the crucial Bihar Assembly elections scheduled for 6 and 11 November.

While Rahul Gandhi opened his campaign for the Bihar polls from Muzaffarpur, Amit Shah raised his pitch for the NDA candidates from Darbhanga, Begusarai, and Samastipur.

Here we take a look at key takeaways from their speeches:

Rahul Gandhi

1. The LS LoP on Wednesday claimed that the BJP is running the Bihar government “through remote control” while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is just the face.

2. Gandhi claimed the BJP government in the Centre is “against social justice”, and said that the Narendra Modi government agreed to the caste census on Congress’ insistence.

3. Gandhi alleged, “Two Indias are emerging. One belongs to the common people, and the other to five or 10 billionaires. This is the reason that places like Bihar suffer in poverty, with its vast potential remaining untapped,” as per a PTI report.

4. “You all must have seen the drama that PM Narendra Modi wanted to enact by declaring that he was going to take a dip in the Yamuna on the occasion of Chhath Puja. When it came to the fore that it was a water body created through piped water, Modi flinched,” the Congress leader also claimed.

5. Gandhi said that why Modi claims of making cheap data available to Indians, he hides “the fact that a monopoly of one business house has been allowed in the telecom sector.” Rahul also said that Modi has been silent “on the destruction caused to the economy by demonetisation”.

6. Gandhi repeated his allegations of vote theft in Maharashtra and Haryana polls, adding, “They will try to do the same in Bihar.”

7. Gandhi also spoke on the rich cultural history of Bihar and said that people from the state are doing well in other countries like “Dubai, Mauritius, Seychelles and America.”

8. In slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi told the gathering, “You are also able to understand political intricacies in a matter of seconds. I would urge you not to be swayed by the drama of Narendra Modi. He would be ready to dance on the stage if he sensed that it would fetch you votes.”

This last comment of the Congress leader has irked members of the BJP, with BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari calling the LS LoP a “local goon” for his remark.

He also alleged that Gandhi has “mocked voters” as well as “insulted” the poor with his remarks.

Let us take a look at what Amit Shah said at his rally:

Amit Shah

1. While speaking in Darbhanga, Shah claimed that Lalu Prasad Yadav is trying to make his son the chief minister while Sonia Gandhi is trying to make her son the prime minister without realising that neither of these posts are vacant.

2. Shah questioned whether the arrested members of the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) would remain in jail if the Mahagathbandhan came to power.

3. The home minister termed the Mahagathbandhan as ‘thug bandhan’ while alleging the RJD supremo Lalu Prasad is involved in a number of scams, including the fodder, land-for-jobs, and bitumen scams. He also alleged that the Congress is involved in cases of corruption worth ₹12 lakh crores.

4. Shah, in Begusarai, referred to Rahul Gandhi’s Vote Adhikar Yatra in Bihar as a ‘save infiltrators yatra’.

5. He equated the NDA alliance in Bihar as ‘paanch paandav’ and said the upcoming elections will be a way of preventing the return of ‘jungle raj’ in the state.

6. Shah also claimed that the INDIA bloc wants to take away the ‘Jannayak’ title given to former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur. “Modi ji bestowed Bharat Ratna upon Jannayak Karpoori Thakur. Now, they (opposition) want to take away the title from Karpoori ji. We will not let this happen. People have seen the real face of Congress that had prevented Babu Jagjivan Ram from becoming the PM,” Shah said, as per PTI.

7. Shah said Darbhanga will get a metro rail soon while highlighting an airport construction and an AIIMS that is being built in the region.

8. The BJP leader spoke of a temple dedicated to Goddess Sita that is being built in Mithila, and highlighted that all places the goddess visited will be connected to one ‘Ram circuit’.