Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi launched a fierce blistering attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the BJP accusing them of making Bihar the crime capital of India.
“Bihar was once considered the land of truth, justice, and non-violence. It showed the path to the entire world. BJP and Nitish ji have brought Bihar down from the land of knowledge and made it the crime capital of India,” the Congress leader said while addressing an Extremely Backward Castes (EBC) conference sponsored by his party in Nitish Kumar’s home district Nalanda on Friday.
He once again raised the issue of caste census. Pointing out that 90 per cent of the population is not in big positions, he raised questioned over lack of employment and government policies. “I have realised that 90 per cent of the country’s population has no real representation anywhere. The backward classes, Dalits, Adivasis, and extremely backward communities have no meaningful presence. That’s why I raised the issue of the caste census, so that the reality of the country could be revealed like an X-ray.”
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ignoring the demand for a country-wide caste census, he said that Modi used to call himself OBC in every speech. But later he started saying that there is no caste in the country. “If there is no caste in India, then how did Narendra Modi become OBC,” he asked.
“I looked Modi ji in the eye in the Lok Sabha and said that the caste census will definitely take place. I knew that with just a little pressure, he would surrender. The BJP-RSS have a habit of surrendering; it is part of their history,” he added.
The Nalanda event marked a departure from the old practice as Rahul Gandhi targeted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the problems of Bihar. Even on the eve of his visit, he targeted Kumar through social media posts saying the situation in Bihar is extremely frightening. He asserted that the Nitish government has now become a symbol of the politics of ‘no justice, only power’.
The Congress MP said, “Even after being in power for 20 years, Nitish’s double-engine government could neither provide security, nor respect, nor development to Bihar. Crime, unemployment, and migration – this has become the real identity of the Nitish-BJP government. Their agenda is to cling to power by making the public helpless.”
He said, “The Nitish government has become a symbol of politics of power, not ‘justice’. Enough is enough, the time has come to break this cycle of injustice and take Bihar forward on the path of security, self-respect, and dignity.”
Rahul Gandhi started the day-long Bihar tour with a visit to the village of the Mountain Man Dashrath Manjhi. He paid a floral tribute to the Dalit icon and met his family.