Patna, Oct 29 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday launched a broadside against what he called dynastic politics, singling out Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav while addressing a large election rally in Darbhanga.

Shah accused the two leaders of seeking to install their children in top offices. “Sonia Gandhi wants to make her son Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister and Lalu Prasad Yadav wants to make his son the Chief Minister of Bihar,” he said.

“I want to tell them that there is no vacancy for either post. Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister, and Nitish Kumar is the Chief Minister, and they will remain on those posts,” he said.

Framing his attack as a contrast between nepotism and youth empowerment, Shah pointed to the BJP’s drive to induct young first-time candidates.

He said the party will give tickets to one lakh young people for local and higher offices and highlighted 25-year-old folk singer Maithili Thakur, whom he said the BJP has fielded from Alinagar despite her lack of prior political background.

“PM Modi has said that the BJP will give tickets to one lakh young people to contest elections for the first time, for positions ranging from village council members and sarpanches to block and district panchayat members, MLAs, and MPs. An RJD leader was asking who we gave tickets to for the first time. So let me tell you, we gave a ticket to 25-year-old Maithili Thakur, who has no political background whatsoever. While Lalu Prasad wants to make his son the Chief Minister and Sonia Gandhi wants to make her son the Prime Minister, the BJP is the only party that promotes youths of the country into politics,” he said.

On national security and law-and-order issues, Shah praised the Modi government’s actions against the Popular Front of India.

“The Popular Front of India (PFI) was formed here, but the then Congress government had not banned it. PM Modi banned the PFI in a single night, conducted raids at more than 100 locations, and put the entire PFI network behind bars. I promise that as long as there is even one BJP MP, we will not let a single PFI member out of jail,” he asserted.

Shah also credited the Modi government with major decisions on Kashmir – noting the abrogation of Article 370 – and said the government has taken a tougher stance against terrorism.

“The Congress party and Lalu Prasad Yadav protected Article 370 for 70 years. PM Modi abolished Article 370 forever. There was a time when terrorists would spill blood on Indian soil, and there would be no response. Today, under PM Modi’s leadership, we enter the terrorists’ homes and eliminate them. PM Modi started the tradition of giving a befitting reply to terrorism in the country,” Shah said.

Turning to welfare and state-level achievements, Shah recounted several central and Bihar government programs, including free medical treatment up to Rs 5 lakh for the poor, housing schemes, the PM-Kisan direct payments of Rs 6,000 per year, the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana distribution of food grains, one-time transfers of Rs 10,000 to over a crore Jeevika Didis, and 125 units of free electricity per household.

He also noted increases in widow pensions and other state measures he attributed to the Nitish Kumar government.

Recalling the 2020 Assembly outcome in Darbhanga — when the NDA won nine out of ten seats — Shah urged voters to deliver all ten seats to the NDA this time, appealing to local supporters to put all Darbhanga seats in Narendra Modi’s bag.

He also promised to construct a grand museum in Darbhanga where manuscripts of Bihar would be kept under one roof.

–IANS

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