Chirag Paswan, LJP come under fresh attack from J P Nadda

In a fresh attack on Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party, BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda on Tuesday asserted that berating Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar while lavishing praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a "conspiracy" to split votes which could benefit the opposition RJD.

Addressing election rallies in Rajnagar and Dhaka assembly segments of the poll-bound Madhubani and East Champaran districts respectively, Nadda, who did not mention the LJP or its president by name, nonetheless asked the people to be on their guard against the "conspiracy" lest Lalu (Prasad) may be back.

"A conspiracy is on these days, to berate Nitish Kumar while praising Narendra Modi. This is aimed at splitting votes. You have to be careful. Narendra Modi has been generous in providing assistance to the state.

"But if Lalu comes back, all the efforts of the NDA will come undone", said the BJP chief referring to the RJDs jailed supremo whom the saffron party and its allies have been relentlessly attacking, building up a "15 years versus 15 years" narrative. Nadda had made similar remarks at election rallies he addressed in the state on the previous day.

Chirag Paswan, son of former Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, pulled out of the NDA in Bihar recently vowing to defeat Nitish Kumar and his JD(U) and ensuring that the BJP, a partner in the states ruling coalition, headed the next government.

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Paswan has also been singing paeans to the Prime Minister, comparing his fidelity towards Modi to Hanumans devotion for Lord Rama. He has also sought to drive a wedge between BJP and JD(U) underscoring the LJPs unflinching support to Modi government on all issues, unlike the Bihar Chief Minister's party which opposed the scrapping of Article 370, the law against triple talaq and the proposed country-wide NRC.

"The elections are an occasion for the people of the state to make a choice between highways and potholes, between prosperity and fear of kidnappings. The RJD stands for anarchy. It has joined hands with the disruptive CPI(ML) which has been involved in many massacres. And about the Congress, the less said the better", Nadda said.

He alleged, "Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and their ilk are so obsessed with attacking Modi that they end up attacking the country itself".

"Our Prime Minister succeeded in containing Covid-19 by the timely imposition of lockdown and utilising the period for improving medical facilities. Compare this with the situation in Europe, or in the US where presidential elections are on and the incumbent is being accused of mishandling the pandemic", Nadda said.

However, Rahul Gandhi makes comments suggesting India has done worse than Pakistan in handling the global pandemic. Same was the case with Shashi Tharoor. And some time back Mani Shankar Aiyer gave the call for ousting Modi from power while in Lahore, he said. Such has been the nationalism of Indian National Congress, the BJP president remarked with a tinge of disgust.

"Under Modi, the nation's borders have been secure. When Chinese troops attempted incursions in Galwan, it was thwarted by valiant soldiers of the Bihar Regiment, though some of them lost their lives in the process", he said recalling the stand-off that took place in Ladakh a few months ago.

Nonetheless, infrastructure development has taken place at an unprecedented speed across the inhospitable terrain and the previously inaccessible corners can now easily be reached by road, Nadda added.