Defence minister Rajnath Singh
NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said that a two-thirds majority for the NDA in Bihar would be a “befitting tribute” to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his birthday, November 14 — the day poll results will be declared.Speaking at an election rally in Barh, Patna district, Singh said, “The day the Bihar poll results will be out happens to be the birthday of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. He may not be one of our ideologues, may not belong to our party, but he was the first prime minister of our nation. I do respect him.”
He added, as quoted by PTI, “If people vote the NDA to power by a two-thirds majority in Bihar on November 14, this will be a true tribute to Pt Nehru in real terms on his birthday. Do you want to accomplish this task or not?”Singh said the kind of nation Nehru envisioned is the same kind of nation Prime Minister Narendra Modi is striving to build — a developed and strong India.Targeting the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Singh said the people of Bihar no longer want “goonda raj” and credited chief minister Nitish Kumar for restoring order and development. “Nitish Kumar has largely been successful in undoing damage inflicted by RJD’s jungle raj,” he said. He said voters face a clear choice in the Bihar assembly polls — whether to return to “jungle raj” or continue on the path of progress. Speaking at another rally in Darbhanga Singh said, “We will release our manifesto on Thursday and implement every single word in it.” Singh said the BJP practices “fair and clean politics,” avoiding caste or religion-based politics. He also highlighted India’s economic growth, saying, “India has progressed from 11th position to 4th place in terms of economy under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership,” adding that “in a few years, it will reach the third spot.”