Nitish for 'Sangh-mukht-Bharat', JD-U to expand in UP

Calling for a "Sangh-(RSS)-mukht-Bharat", Bihar Chief Minister on Thursday told the BJP and RSS not to preach nationalism and said his Janata Dal-United (JD-U) will expand in Uttar Pradesh.

In his first visit to Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar launched a bitter attack on both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).

"Today the BJP is talking about nationalism whereas the veterans of the BJP and the RSS played no role in the independence movement," Nitish Kumar told a public rally at Pindra area here.

"When Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi) was fighting against the British, when freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh and Chandrasekhar Azad gave their lives for the country, they (BJP and RSS) were not there.

"But today they are preaching nationalism," the veteran politician said. He quickly added: "We don't need nationalism lessons from them."

Of the RSS, he said: "They pretend to be nationalist but the fact is that tricolor is not their flag. Their real flag is bhagwa (saffron)."

The chief minister alleged that the Modi government had failed on every front.

"They promised to bring back black money in 100 days. Have they delivered?

Instead, "they delivered Love Jehad and Ghar Wapsi and, during the Bihar elections, they raised the issue of beef", he said.

Nitish Kumar pointed out that Modi had in his 2014 Lok Sabha election speeches promised to give Rs.15 lakh of black money his government would bring home from abroad to every Indian. Now he was mum on the issue.

"They speak in two tongues. Before elections, they speak one language and after election something else."

Saying he wanted a "Sangh-mukt-Bharat" (RSS-free-country) and "sharab-mukt-samaj" (liquor-free-society), Nitish Kumar said that if the BJP can be defeated in Bihar, it can be defeated in other states too.

He urged people in states going to the polls to choose "wisely", rejecting those whose election promises remained unfulfilled even two years after Modi took office.

Nitish Kumar said the JD-U was "now planning to spread in UP in a big way". Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, will see assembly polls early next year.

Claiming that the liquor ban was a success in Bihar, he dared Modi to ban liquor in BJP-ruled states too.

"Modi comes from Gandhiji's state. Why doesn't he go for liquor prohibition? Why don't they (BJP) ban liquor in all-BJP ruled states?"

He said he would address a public rally in Lucknow on May 15 to seek a ban on liquor.

--IANS

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