Published On : Tue, Oct 27th, 2015

Verbal jugglery and sarcasm make Bihar electioneering interesting

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Lallu

Patna/ Nagpur: Those days are gone when the electioneering used to be issue-based and image-based or based on ethical politics, but now the electioneering has become personal and also a mockery. This is what seems on Tuesday in Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad’s dubbing Prime Minister Narendra Modi a ‘communal virus’ after the latter had called him a ‘virus’ in Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s computer, during an election rally in Buxar on Monday.

“Modi is himself a virulent virus, spreading communalism,” Prasad said ahead of the third phase of polling on Wednesday.

The RJD chief also slammed Modi for alleging that the secular alliance between the Janata Dal(United)-RJD-Congress was plotting to take away 5% reservation of SC/ST and OBCs to give a particular community a share in the quota. He said it was a ploy to divert public attention from the BJP-RSS move to scrap reservation in jobs.

“It is an attempt to arouse communal passion in the society. Can anyone alter the constitutional provisions of reservation?” the RJD chief asked.

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The PM’s “Lalu-bashing spree” and 17 public rallies ahead of three rounds of polls were signs of desperation in the saffron camp, Prasad added.

He also objected to the “slur” on his daughter Misa Bharti and son Tejashwi Yadav, who is contesting his maiden assembly election.

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At a rally in Patna on Sunday, the PM took a dig at Prasad’s bid to promote his family rule by first trying to “set bechari beti (helpless daughter)” in the Lok Sabha polls and now the “yuvraj” with a poor academic background in the assembly elections.

“What kind of a language is PM using? Modi has downgraded the dignity of the PM by making such frivolous statements,” Prasad said, adding the “below the belt” attack on Misa was akin to insulting women’s empowerment.

Prasad said BJP leaders should look within and ask why they have ministers like Smriti Irani whose academic qualification had stirred up a controversy.

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Misa too reacted strongly to Modi’s remarks, saying using cheap language as “set karna” for someone’s daughter was not expected of a Prime Minister. In a Facebook post, she also referred to Modi having left his wife at a young age besides mentioning the snooping of a woman by agencies in Gujarat.

“A daughter is the prestige of a house but some people put them under surveillance,” she said, insisting she was not a ‘bechari’.