At rally in Bihar, Akhilesh Yadav mocks Bhagwat, backs Tejashwi for Bihar polls
Ara (Bihar) (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday took a veiled dig at RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who had recently claimed that the people of India have had “the same DNA for 40,000 years”.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, who joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar on the final day of its third leg, addressed a rally in Ara town.
“We have been saying that our fight for social justice is 5,000 years old. But only recently we got to learn that it dates back to 40,000 years," said Yadav, tongue in cheek.
“So, we must pull up our socks. We speak about 5,000 years of social inequality. But they (BJP-RSS) assert that the existing order is 40,000 years old. In the last year’s Lok Sabha polls, the BJP was beaten in Awadh (UP). It is now time to drive them out from Magadh (Bihar)”, said Yadav.
Bhagwat had made the statement at a function held to celebrate the centenary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) earlier this week, when he also asserted “everyone in Akhand Bharat is a Hindu”.
Yadav also made a mention of “the chariot (rath) having been stopped in Bihar”, an obvious reference to the arrest of BJP patriarch Lal Krishna Advani in 1990 at Samastipur, that had stopped the Ram Rath Yatra in its tracks but, incidentally, also served as a trigger for fierce rivalry between RJD president and the then chief minister Lalu Prasad and Uttar Pradesh counterpart Mulayam Singh Yadav, the founder of the Samajwadi Party.
The SP supremo, however, backed Prasad’s son and heir apparent to the hilt, saying, “We will cooperate fully with Tejashwi Yadav in the upcoming assembly polls. May he form the next government and take Bihar on the path to progress”.
“Tejashwi has been promising jobs to Bihar’s youth, which would put an end to forced migration. Let him win the assembly polls and it would be the turn of the BJP to migrate from the state," said Yadav.
The SP leader also charged the Narendra Modi government at the Centre with “trying to intimidate us” but “getting scared of (US President Donald) Trump” in the wake of the steep hike in tariffs imposed by the US administration.
“It seems the tariffs have been slapped on the mouths of the BJP as well”, chuckled the SP president, who also claimed “they had promised to double the income of farmers. But, in reality, the farmers of the country have been ruined."
He also alleged that the Election Commission was busy "manipulating (jugaad) elections in favour of the ruling BJP" and vowed that “all workers of our INDIA bloc shall ensure that names of voters do not remain wrongfully deleted from the electoral rolls. During the polls, they would also ensure that people are able to cast their votes without fear or intimidation”.
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BJP will form govt in Bengal with thumping majority: Nabin
Mirzapur (UP) (PTI): BJP president Nitin Nabin on Wednesday voiced confidence that his party will form the government in West Bengal with a "thumping majority".
Polling is underway for 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, covering key districts, including Kolkata, Howrah and North and South 24 Parganas.
The high-stakes contest is being seen as decisive for the ruling TMC's bid for a fourth consecutive term and the BJP's push to form its first government in the state. The first phase held on April 23 recorded a high voter turnout of over 93 per cent, reflecting intense electoral engagement.
Speaking to reporters in Mirzapur, Nabin said, "The BJP will form the government in Bengal. We are winning the elections with a massive majority."
Earlier in the day, the BJP chief visited the Vindhyavasini temple and offered prayers. The rituals were conducted by his priest Acharya Agastya Kumar Dwivedi.
On his first visit to the district after assuming office, Nabin was welcomed by party workers at several places. At the temple, he was received by city MLA Ratnakar Mishra and District Magistrate Pawan Kumar Gangwar, who felicitated him with a traditional 'angvastram'.
After offering prayers for about 10 minutes amid Vedic chants, Nabin held a meeting at a hotel with local MLAs, including Mishra, Majhwan MLA Suchismita Maurya and Madihan MLA Ramashankar Patel.
Patel said Nabin emphasised strengthening the organisation and asked public representatives to focus on serving people in their respective constituencies.
Several party leaders, including district president Lal Bahadur Saroj, district vice-president Gaurav Umar, municipal chairperson Shyam Sundar Kesari, women workers and senior officials, were present on the occasion.
Elaborate security arrangements were put in place by the district administration for the visit, with multiple officers of circle officer rank deployed, officials said.
