Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the opposition in the Bihar Assembly, to “lose a little weight”. The incident happened on Tuesday evening after Tejashwi gave a speech at the closing ceremony of the Bihar Legislative Assembly centenary celebration.
The prime minister also asked Tejashwi about the health of his father and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad.
Tejashwi Yadav, while reading a pre-written speech at the event, seemed to lack confidence as he faltered repeatedly. During his speech, Tejashwi asked the prime minister to award the Bharat Ratna to former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur.
PM Modi’s advice to lose weight was made after the event when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi along with other leaders came to see the prime minister off.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted that India was the “mother of all democracies”, drawing upon the legacy of ancient republics like Vaishali, and expressed satisfaction over the nation’s march towards becoming a “mature democracy”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the remark at a function in Patna organised on the occasion of centenary celebrations of Bihar Assembly as part of which he unveiled a commemorative pillar, planted a sapling of ‘Kalpataru’ tree and laid foundation stones of a guest house and a library.
“India is a democracy because we believe in saamanjasya (harmony)….. We are often told that India is the largest democracy. I would like countrymen to remember that we are not just the largest; India is the mother of all democracies,” Prime Minister Modi said.
Expressing delight over being “the first prime minister to have visited the Assembly of Bihar”, Prime Minister Modi recalled that the state was home to Vaishali, said to be the oldest republic in the world.
“Many people say that democracy came to India because of western influence. By doing so they undermine the legacy of Bihar,” the Prime Minister said, recalling events like Champaran Satyagrah of Mahatma Gandhi to make his point.
“It is not a mere coincidence that the centenary celebrations of assembly premises are being held simultaneously with the Amrit Mahotsav (75th anniversary) of the Independence,” said the PM.
He also stated that the nation was “on its way to becoming a mature democracy” which was evident from “better attendance of lawmakers inside Parliament and state assemblies” and “discarding of obsolete laws”.
Prime Minister Modi also spoke of the “glorious past” of the state Assembly, which became the first in the country to bring in a zamindari abolition law and reservation for women in panchayats.
The PM’s address was preceded by speeches of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha and Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav.
Earlier, The Prime Minister inaugurated several infrastructure projects, including a new airport in Deogarh – where he was greeted by chief minister Hemant Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) – and laid the foundations of projects worth several thousand crores of rupees.
“Short-cut politics is a challenge today. People could get votes through populist measures. But the truth is that any country that resorts to short-cut politics is bound to face short-circuit,” Modi later said at a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally in Deoghar. “But there is no short-cut for hard work.”
Without naming any political party, Modi hit out at political opponents, saying previous governments used to resort to short-circuit politics. “I appeal from here in Deoghar that you need to reject short-cut politics because people who practice it would never give you new airports, roads and medical colleges in each district,” he added.
During his half-hour speech at the rally attended by Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and top leaders of the state BJP, the Prime Minister listed many development and infrastructure projects by the Centre, especially those for upliftment of tribal areas in the country.
It was Modi’s first visit to the tribal-dominated state after his election campaign for the 2019 assembly elections. An alliance of the JMM, Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal — led by incumbent chief minister Soren — had wrested power from the BJP in the state polls.
Scindia said the state would soon have three more functional airports, besides Ranchi and Deoghar. “After Ranchi and Deoghar, we will set up airports in Bokaro, Jamshedpur and Dumka. Also,we will introduce 14 new air routes in the state to increase connectivity,” he said.
The foundation for the Deoghar airport, spread over 652 acres, was laid by Modi in 2018. Built at a cost of ₹401 crore, the airport witnessed its first commercial flight between Kolkata and Deoghar on Tuesday.
Besides the districts in Santhal Parganas and North Chhotanagpur divisions, the airport is also expected to benefit neighbouring south Bihar districts, including Jamui, Banka and Bhagalpur.
Apart from the airport, Modi inaugurated a 250 bed in-patients department and operation theatre at the new AIIMS in the city, besides laying foundation stones of road, rail and energy projects, including a gas pipeline and a LPG bottling plant.
“These development projects would not just give a boost to the local economy, but to entire eastern India. These would help in creating new opportunities and job creation,” Modi said at Deoghar airport. “Development of states would lead to the development of the country.”
Speaking at the airport inaugural function, Soren thanked the Prime Minister for making the decade-old dream of the airport in the region, even as he indirectly raised the issue of displacement caused by such projects.
“I would also like to thank those three hundred families who got displaced due to acquisition for this project. We often forget the labours who toil hard in making such projects a reality. Jharkhand has been contributing for decades in nation’s development by providing mineral resources. Now it’s time to develop the state. I am confident that if I continue to get support of the Centre and people, we will make it a leading state in 5-7 years,” he said in a short speech at the function.
The JMM has been reluctant in announcing it’s support to the opposition’s joint candidate Yashwant Sinha for the presidential election scheduled for July 18. It is expected by to side with the BJP-led NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu, a member of the same Sathali tribe as the Sorens.
During his four-hour stay in the temple town, Modi inaugurated development projects at a function at Deoghar airport, held a roadshow from the airport to the iconic Baidyanath temple, and offered prayers at the shrine before addressing the BJP at Deoghar college ground.
Highlighting the importance of providing modern facilities at the country’s cultural and religious centres, Modi said such improvement leads to increased footfalls of pilgrims, which boosts tourism and the local economy.
