RJD Rally a Warning to its Sponsors; says the Chief Minister
Patna: Oct. 28, 2007
"After a dawn-to-dusk advertisement for over a month, the much-publicized Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) 'Chetawani Rally' came to an abrupt end by 2:00 pm proving that the people of Bihar are in no mood to be misled by RJD propaganda machine again," summed up Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday evening.
"In one quick move, the people of Bihar sent a clear message to the RJD that they were not going to be fooled again. Once is bad enough but to believe that someone could dupe the Biharis again is taking the Bihari public too much for granted," said the Chief Minister at the conclusion of the rally that had promised to showcase a strength of over 30 lakh people.
Kumar further said that the state government made arrangements to accommodate delegates at the old Bankipore Jail premises and several other places but except for the Patna Junction, there were hardly any soul at these places that could confirm the claims of the RJD of 30 lakh people attending the rally.
"This was not an RJD rally, it was a railway rally as was evident by one of their banners that spelt the word rally as 'raily'" quipped the Chief Minister.
"If anything at all, it should be the RJD leaders who should be 'warned' by this rally that their days are over in Bihar once and for all. As far as the NDA in Bihar is concerned, we are well on the path of development. Let them organize rallies or 'railas' as they wish, the fact is the more they engage in such activities, they further expose themselves for what they actually are," Kumar said.
Speaking about Lalu Prasad Yadav's drumbeat for reservation for people from upper caste, Kumar said what was stopping him from implementing his plan now. "The power to provide reservation is in the hands of the Central government. Yadav is the part of the UPA government at the Center so why wait till the next Assembly elections? Why not put your money where your mouth is?" asked the Chief Minister.
"The fact that the number of minorities on the rally stage was practically non-existent indicates that he has completely lost the support of the Muslim community in Bihar," he said.
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