Political warfare over the Prime Minister’s DNA remarks intensified as chief minister Nitish Kumar refusing to blink even as BJP leaders clarified that Narendra Modi’s DNA remark was another political
Political warfare over the Prime Minister’s DNA remarks intensified as chief minister Nitish Kumar refusing to blink even as BJP leaders clarified that Narendra Modi’s DNA remark was another political “jumla”, and a “Shabd Wapsi” campaign was launched across Bihar on Tuesday.
JD(U) leaders and workers who had gathered outside the party office in Patna vowed that “we will not stop till the Prime Minister retracts his DNA remark”. The party plans to send around 50 lakh “Bihari DNA” samples to the PM.
People were seen queuing up with hair and nail samples in small plastic packets with their signatures to submit at a counter at the party office to be sent to the PM. Leaders and workers of the JD(U) held dharnas across the state in protest against Mr Modi’s remark, demanding that the PM take his words back.
Mr Kumar, urging more people to join the campaign, said on Twitter: “I am proud to be a Bihari and I know that there is no problem with my DNA, those who doubt it may get it tested, I have just signed a petition asking Modiji to take back his words.”
The JD(U) clearly wants to capitalise on the PM’s remark to trigger a sense of regional loyalty among the masses. The signature and sample collection drive, which began on Tuesday, is likely to continue throughout this month. CM Nitish Kumar, in a tweet, also said the drive would become a part of the JD(U)’s door-to-door campaign ahead of the Assembly elections later this year.
JD(U) spokesman Niraj Kumar, replying to questions raised by Union minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on the payment for the test, said: “They levelled an allegation; they raised the question about our DNA, they should pay for it.”
Mr Kumar, who will be contesting the election in alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal, was supported by RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav over this issue. There are indications that the two leaders will begin their joint campaign against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA by addressing a “Swabhiman Rally”, which is to begin from August 29.
BJP leaders reacted sharply to the ongoing HD(U) drive, calling it a “political stunt” intended only to gain sympathy from the people of Bihar. Former deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi accused Mr Kumar of betraying the state’s people and his mandate by walking out of the NDA, and said: “They don’t need any doctor to test their political DNA. The voters of Bihar will test it soon like they did in the Lok Sabha election... Why are they getting restless — they are not going to like the results of their samples anyway.”
