Narendra Modi seeks to woo Nitish’s Bihar with special status, and more

JEHANABAD/ARA: BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Thursday promised special category state status for Bihar besides a special package and special attention.

The status is the main election plank of his rival and Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar.

"India cannot move forward without Bihar. The NDA wants Bihar to move forward and attain heights so that India also becomes a strong and prosperous nation," he said a rally in Jehanabad.

He lashed out both at the Union and Bihar governments and said neither soldiers nor farmers were safe under them. Modi said the Congress's new-found coinage is ' Mar Jawan, Mar Kisan'. He said due to faulty policies of the UPA government, farmers were forced to commit suicide on a large scale.

Without naming Nitish, Modi hit out at the state government for harbouring criminals. "The common people have suffered as tourist inflow has diminished in the wake of Patna and Bodh Gaya blasts," Modi said. "Terrorism divides, tourism unites."

In Ara, Modi hoped the BJP will form the government at the Centre on its own. He challenged the political pundits and said their arithmetic would fail. "The days of the Union government are numbered.''

Modi said if the BJP is voted to power, he would try to uproot corruption from the society and show the people and the world how a government should be run. "Neither the JD (U) nor the Congress-RJD combine would be able to open their account in the state this time.''

Modi lashed out at Congress president Sonia Gandhi and said she should give an account of the 10 years of the Congress rule at the centre. "She has never answered any questions posed to her on corruption, unemployment and price rise.''

He called the Congress-RJD alliance a 'bhrasht bandhan (corrupt alliance)'.