With the upcoming Bihar assembly elections in sight, political tensions have escalated following offensive remarks made against Prime Minister Modi’s mother. The BJP initiated a Bihar bandh (shutdown) on Thursday to protest, while the opposition deemed it ineffective. An RJD spokesperson described the bandh as a complete failure, asserting that the people of Bihar have recognized the BJP’s efforts to construct a false narrative against the RJD and Congress, based on unsubstantiated claims. Below are some major developments from Bihar’s political landscape.
**1. Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) National Convention in Delhi:**
The Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) convened its national convention in Delhi on September 4th at the Constitution Club. The event was inaugurated by party patron and former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi. The convention saw participation from key leaders, including National President Dr. Santosh Kumar Suman and numerous workers from across the nation. The convention passed multiple resolutions, including condemning the India alliance for allegedly insulting the Prime Minister’s mother, discussing preparations for the Bihar assembly elections, demanding homes on 5 decimal land for every Dalit family, emphasizing the need for a uniform education system, and resolving to compete strongly for more seats in the Bihar elections, addressing social issues, supporting landless families, ensuring employment for migrant workers, addressing old age pensions and social security, and supporting the underprivileged.
**2. Fortunate Future Foundation Members to Back AAP:**
Seven lakh members of the Fortunate Future Foundation, who were defrauded in PACL investments, will support the Aam Aadmi Party in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections. This was revealed by National President Surendra Prasad during a press conference at the AAP Bihar state office. He claimed the central government, at the behest of PM Modi, ordered the closure of PACL without returning investors’ funds, despite the CBI’s affidavit indicating investors’ money of Rs 49,100 crore was deposited with SEBI.
**3. NDA Mahila Morcha’s ‘Bihar Bandh’ Against ‘Mother’s Insult’:**
The NDA Joint Mahila Morcha organized a five-hour Bihar bandh to protest against the use of offensive language and insults against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother. The bandh was considered successful. BJP state leaders, including Dr. Dilip Jaiswal, along with MPs, MLAs, and workers from the NDA Mahila Morcha, took to the streets to protest.
**4. PK’s Criticism of the Bihar Bandh:**
Prashant Kishor, leading the Jan Suraaj initiative, criticized the NDA’s Bihar bandh during his Bihar Badlav Yatra, asserting its ineffectiveness. He directed his criticism towards NDA leaders for causing disruptions and stated the public did not support the bandh. Kishor also addressed remarks by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, criticizing his views on corruption and governance.
**5. CPI-ML’s Condemnation of BJP’s Actions:**
CPI-ML state secretary Kunal accused the BJP of resorting to tactics reminiscent of goondaism during the bandh. He highlighted incidents of harassment, including targeting ambulances and street vendors. Kunal noted that the public broadly rejected the shutdown.
**6. BJP Leaders Switch to RJD:**
Chandan Kumar Singh and Sonu Gupta, along with their supporters, left the BJP and joined the RJD at the RJD state office, in the presence of key leaders.
**7. Bihar’s Rejection of the BJP’s Shutdown:**
RJD spokesperson Chittaranjan Gagan stated that the Bihar bandh, called by the NDA, was completely rejected by the people. He emphasized its failure, citing public understanding of the BJP’s attempts to manufacture narratives against the RJD and Congress. Gagan also pointed out that the bandh’s duration was shortened, implying the BJP’s awareness of its unpopularity.
