Amit Shah expressed confidence that BJP-JDU alliance will get a two-third majority in Bihar polls

New Delhi:

The Congress on Sunday accused the BJP of using money power for politics at a time when the country is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and termed Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s “virtual rally” an insult to the people of Bihar.

Setting the tone for Bihar assembly polls, Mr Shah held the first of its kind virtual rally where he addressed the people of Bihar from the national capital through various online broadcast media and said the state has moved from “jungle raj to janta raj” under the NDA rule.

Congress leader and former Union Minister Akhilesh Prasad Singh said Amit Shah held the rally with politics in mind at a time when people of Bihar are dying of coronavirus infections and many have been left stranded in various parts of the country.

The BJP spent around Rs 100 crore on the virtual rally, he claimed, adding that around one lakh mobile phones were distributed among the people.

While the central government does not have money to transport migrant workers back home or provide them with food, how did the BJP get the money to spend on political rallies, wondered Mr Singh, a Rajya Sabha member.

“At a time the country is fighting COVID-19, the BJP is holding such political rallies. They are trying to lure the people of Bihar with their money power. This is injustice towards the people of Bihar, who have been insulted,” Mr Singh said at a virtual press conference.

The former union minister said while people in Bihar are dying and enough COVID-19 testing was not being done, BJP was holding political rallies. This, he said, was an insult of people of the state.

“The BJP is trying to do politics on the basis of their money power. People are seeing their political design. The people of Bihar are watching the way they have been insulted. They will teach the BJP a lesson and throw this party out of power whenever elections are held,” he said.

The Congress leader said the people of Bihar have not suffered during the British rule as much as they suffered in the last three months. He alleged that while 45 lakh COVID-19 tests were done all over the country, not even one lakh were done in Bihar.

“This was being done deliberately so that the real figures of coronavirus infection do not come out,” he alleged.

The Congress leader also accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of having done nothing to contain the virus in Bihar. He will turn out to be the “most inefficient” chief minister in the country, Mr Singh said.

Although Amit Shah asserted that this rally had nothing to do with Bihar poll campaign and was aimed at connecting with people during the fight against coronavirus, he expressed confidence that the alliance will get a two-third majority in the state assembly polls under Nitish Kumar’s leadership.