Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a joint press conference of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc in Mumbai. He referred to Modi’s 2014 election promise in which the Prime Minister allegedly claimed that he would deposit ₹15 lakh in every citizen’s bank account from the alleged “black money” stashed in Swiss banks.
Yadav humorously remarked, “I was also enticed by this offer and opened a bank account with my family. You must remember how the BJP-NDA came to power by making false claims and spreading rumours. They implicated my name and the names of many other leaders, suggesting that we had money in Swiss banks. PM Modi promised to retrieve the funds from Swiss banks and deposit them into the accounts of the Indian people. I too was tempted by this offer, but I did not engage in the kind of corrupt practices that Narendra Modi is being accused of facilitating.”
He went on to express concerns about the safety of minorities under the rule of the BJP government and suggested that the country has suffered due to the lack of unity among opposition parties.
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Lalu Yadav’s comments came shortly after he claimed that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc was “holding Narendra Modi by his throat,” before heading to the meeting in Mumbai. He stated, “Hum log Narendra Modi ka nareti pakde hue hain…nareti par chadhne jaa rahe hain” (we are holding Narendra Modi by his throat, we are going to tighten our hold), while speaking to reporters in Patna.
In response, the BJP criticized Yadav’s statement and urged him not to use offensive language against any leader. BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand suggested that Lalu Yadav’s remarks were driven by his desire to position his son as the Chief Minister of Bihar as his political career nears its end, and as a means to pressure Nitish Kumar.
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