Patna (Bihar) [India], November 2 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow in Patna, describing it as "incredible".
Prasad highlighted the enthusiastic reception accorded to PM Modi, with women showering admiration and performing 'aarti', which he termed an emotional moment for the party workers.
Speaking to ANI, Ravishankar Prasad said, "It was incredible. The women showered their admiration and offered 'aarti'; it was an emotional moment for us. People of Patna hold him in high regard. Earlier, he came when I was contesting from here. As MP from Patna Sahib, I bow down before the people of my constituency."
PM Modi held a roadshow in Patna on Sunday, following multiple rallies in Arah and Nawada. He was accompanied by BJP State President Dilip Jaiswal and Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan. However, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was not seen at the roadshow.
PM Modi also paid floral tributes to the statue of noted Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister addressed an election rally in Nawada and hailed the NDA's poll promise to provide Rs 3,000 in addition to the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi to farmers in Bihar, saying 'jinhe koi nahi poochhta, Modi unhe poojta hai' (Modi worships those whom no one else cares about).
PM Modi took a jibe at the Opposition, claiming that the previous governments did not prioritise small farmers.
He said, "The governments after independence did not prioritise small farmers. But this is Modi, 'jinhe koi nahi poochhta, Modi unhe poojta hai' (Modi worships those whom no one else cares about). In the last 11 years, our government has brought small farmers to the centre of the agriculture policy."
He claimed that the government has provided Rs 650 crore to the 2 lakh farmers in Nawada.
"We opened bank accounts for farmers, and they get the amount for PM Kisan Samman Nidhi in those bank accounts. The poor farmers have received Rs 20,000 crore. In Nawada, Rs 650 crore has been deposited in the accounts of 2 lakh farmers," he said.
The Prime Minister invoked former PM Rajiv Gandhi and targeted the RJD-Congress-led Mahagathbandhan, alleging corruption under "jungle raj."
"The amount reaches the accounts of the farmers without any cut, commission or corruption. If there was the 'jungle raj', they would have filled their own pockets. Congress's PM once said, 'If Re 1 is sent from Delhi, only 15 paisa reaches the villages.' What was this 'panja' which turned Re 1 into 15 paisa?" he said.
"Farmers and people indulged in animal husbandry will receive double the gift as per the NDA's manifesto. They will receive Rs 6,000 under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, and the Bihar NDA has announced Rs 3,000 over that," PM Modi added.
Polling for the 243-seat Bihar Assembly is scheduled to take place in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with the counting set for November 14.