A silent protest was organized by BJP leaders and workers on Saturday in Gandhi Maidan, Patna, to condemn the offensive comments made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The protesters wore black armbands. Patna Sahib MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, who led the protest, declared that the people of Bihar would not tolerate the insult to a mother and demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav. He questioned if insulting the Prime Minister’s mother reflected good values.
Minister Nitin Naveen stated that the people of Bihar would not accept the disrespect of a mother. BJP workers are not afraid of any injustice and will continue their fight against such insults. National Minister Rituraj Sinha said that the derogatory language used against the Prime Minister’s late mother, even from a public platform, has brought shame to all of Bihar, as it is not in line with the state’s culture that reveres mothers, particularly Chhathi Maiya.
MP Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal condemned the language used against the Prime Minister’s mother. He argued that Bihar’s history does not condone the disrespect of women, and the people of Bihar and the nation will respond accordingly. Former MP Ramkripal Yadav stated that it was an insult to every mother in the country, not just the PM’s mother, and that it would not be tolerated. By remaining silent, they were conveying the message that the Congress’s character has not improved and will not do so.
The silent protest was attended by Rajya Sabha MP Dharmshila Gupta, MLAs Arun Kumar Sinha, Anil Sharma, State General Secretary Radha Mohan Sharma, Rajesh Verma, and many party officials and workers.
Ejaz Ahmad, the Bihar Pradesh RJD spokesperson, criticized the BJP’s silent protest, pointing out the use of inappropriate language by BJP leaders. He questioned the language used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speeches. He questioned why the BJP remained silent when derogatory language was used against Tejashwi Yadav’s mother and sister by BJP MLA Janak Singh in the Bihar Assembly. He asserted that the BJP’s identity is rooted in abusive and culturally inappropriate behavior.
On the 14th day of the Voter Rights Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed a large public gathering in Ara, alongside Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal, CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, VIP founder Mukesh Sahani, and Congress State President Rajesh Ram.
Rahul Gandhi criticized the BJP and the Election Commission for undermining the Constitution through vote manipulation. He claimed the BJP stole the Lok Sabha, Maharashtra, and Haryana assembly elections. He mentioned SIR, claiming the India alliance would prevent vote theft in Bihar. He also accused the government of taking away opportunities from young people by privatizing the public sector and implementing schemes like Agniveer.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) held joint workers’ conferences in several assembly constituencies, including Harsidhi, Kodha, Gopalganj, and Sitamarhi, on Saturday. NDA leaders aimed to boost worker morale and asserted their commitment to forming a government. They anticipate winning over 225 seats in the upcoming assembly elections.
In the workers’ conference, BJP State President Dr. Dilip Jaiswal and Minister Nitish Mishra boosted the morale of the workers in Harsidhi, while Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary and Minister Hari Sahani in Kodha, MP Dharmshila Gupta and Anil Sharma in Gopalganj, and Union Minister Nityanand Rai and Minister Nitin Naveen filled the workers with enthusiasm in Sitamarhi.
In addition, MP Sanjay Jaiswal, Ravi Shankar Prasad in Bakhtiyarpur, Minister Mangal Pandey and MP Ashok Yadav in Aurai, Union Minister Giriraj Singh and Minister Renu Devi in Rajnagar participated in the workers’ conference.
Union Minister Rajbhushan Nishad and Minister Neeraj Kumar Bablu in Bajpatti, Vinod Narayan Jha and Prem Ranjan Patel in Paliganj, Minister Janak Ram and Tarkishore Prasad in Thakurganj assembly constituency addressed the workers in the workers’ conference, while Minister Neeraj Singh Bablu and Lakhinder Paswan in Singheshwar, Minister Prem Kumar Jamalpur, MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Shahnawaz Hussain in Haralakhi and Minister Santosh Singh and MP Janardan Singh Sigriwal addressed the joint workers’ conference in the Nokha assembly.
Mukesh Sahani, founder of the Vikassheel Insaan Party, stated that the Voter Rights Yatra is a movement for securing voting rights, representing the beginning of change in Bihar and the nation. He cited the public support as evidence of the people’s desire for change.
Addressing a public meeting in Ara, Mukesh Sahani argued that the RSS and BJP are trying to eliminate the rights of the poor, Dalits, and backward classes. He warned against vote theft in Bihar, asserting that the loss of voting rights would be detrimental.
Mukesh Sahani stated that they would prevent vote theft in Bihar and that the movement to stop it would begin there.
Bihar Janata Dal (U) state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha called the Mahagathbandhan’s Voter Rights Yatra a failure. He claimed the public realizes the Mahagathbandhan lacks a vision and significant achievements. He accused the opposition of using the yatra to distract from the Nitish government’s development initiatives, but the public saw through their plan.
Kushwaha said the Mahagathbandhan had hurt the sentiments of the people by including leaders Revanth Reddy and Stalin. Therefore, the RJD-Congress alliance will have to face the political consequences in the upcoming assembly elections.
At the Rashtriya Lok Morcha’s state camp office, Upendra Kushwaha welcomed Mukhiya cum PACS president Virendra Singh alias Bhuli Singh from the Nokha area of Rohtas district, and Mukhiya Kamlesh Kumar Patel of Shrikhinda Panchayat, into the party.
Party state spokesperson Nitin Bharti said that Kushwaha welcomed all the members joining the party. He believes the new members will help strengthen the party in the Shahabad area and the Nokha block of Rohtas. The new members will work to accelerate public service with dedication.
Other people who accepted the membership of the party included Chitraranjan Singh, Aditya Raj, Ranjit Kumar Singh, Braj Mohan Singh, Ram Ayodhya Giri, Vinay Kumar, Dular Chand Singh, and a large number of people. Party’s state vice-president Chaudhary Basant Patel, Roshan Raja etc. were present on this occasion.