PM defends 130th Amendment Bill at Bihar rally, says Opposition afraid of political fallout

Batting for the 130th Constitutional Amendment Bill during an election rally in Gaya, Bihar on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Opposition parties for opposing the legislation, saying those who are out on bail are afraid of their political career. Their anger stems from fear.

The Bill aims at removing the PM, CM, Central or state minister whoever is facing allegations of corruption or serious offences and has been detained for at least 30 days consecutively.

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The prime minister said, “Those who have committed wrongdoings may hide themselves from others. I have been in public life for so many years, but not a single stain of corruption has been found on my government.” In contrast, he remarked, the Opposition governments that ruled before him have a long list of corruption cases against them. In Bihar, corruption by Opposition parties is known to every child.

He said if a government clerk can be automatically suspended on being arrested and remaining in custody for 50 hours, why should a chief minister or minister enjoy the privilege of power even while in jail. He cited recent instances where files were being signed and official orders issued directly from jail. “The resolve to free India from corruption is a collective commitment of crores of citizens—and this resolve will be fulfilled,” he added.

He also blamed the Congress and the RJD for all the sufferings of people of Bihar – from unemployment and migration to infiltration and naxalism. Recalling the RJD rule of 15 years, he said the region was gripped by the terror of Maoists. The RJD government pushed Bihar’s future into darkness. He emphasised that there was neither education nor employment, and generations of Biharis were forced to migrate due to these conditions.

He strongly criticised the Opposition parties for attempting to deprive people of Bihar of their rights even today and hand them over to infiltrators. He stated that for appeasement and vote-bank politics, those parties were willing to go to any extent.

The PM said that he has launched the Demography Mission to expel every infiltrator from the country. He asserted that the rapid development of Bihar is a major priority for the NDA government at the Centre and it is working shoulder to shoulder with Nitish Kumar for this purpose.

He praised Nitish Kumar for his efforts to ensure that a maximum number of young people in Bihar find employment within the state itself, without having to migrate for jobs.

On this occasion, the PM laid the foundation stone and inaugurated multiple development projects including Power, Road, Health, Urban Development and Water Supply worth around Rs 13,000 crore. He inaugurated Aunta-Simaria bridge project on River Ganga enhancing connectivity between North and South Bihar. The new bridge will cut a more than 100 km detour for heavy vehicles, and improve access to Simaria Dham.

He also flagged off Amrit Bharat Express between Gaya and Delhi, and the Buddhist Circuit Train between Vaishali and Koderma.