On the evening of Saturday 6th July 2013 Shri Narendra Modi interacted with over 1500 BJP Karyakartas across all the districts of Bihar through the telephone. Shri Modi expressed joy that he is able to connect with so many Karyakartas. He pointed out the deep bond that exists between Gujarat and Bihar from centuries. He highlighted the contribution of the people of Bihar in the development of Gujarat.
Shri Modi recalled that he had attended two programmes in Surat and Ahmedabad to commemorate the centenary celebrations of Bihar where he met people from Bihar who stay in Gujarat. He said that he hails from Vadnagar, which has a history of Buddhist heritage dating back to the time of Hiuen Tsang. He also pointed out that along with Nalanda University in Bihar there was a University in Vallabhi, which was a flourishing centre of education. He recalled that while Kautilya integrated several states to strengthen the Mauryan empire, Sardar Patel integrated princely states into India centuries later.
The Chief Minister said that it was Sardar Patel who had a role in making Dr. Rajendra Prasad the President of India and it was Lok Nayak Jay Prakash Narayan who made Shri Morarji Desai the Prime Minister of India. Likewise, Shri Modi shared that when Mahatma Gandhi wanted to initiate a Satyagraha after returning to India he chose Champaran in Bihar while it was in Gujarat that JP inspired a popular movement in 1974. “It is as if Gujarat and Bihar are made for each other,” Shri Modi avowed. He stated that many of the leaders who are serving the people of Gujarat and Bihar are leaders who took part in the JP Movement in the two states.
He paid rich tributes to Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee and affirmed that Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee devoted his life for preserving the unity of the nation. Shri Modi said that had Sardar Patel, Dr. Ambedkar and Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee been on the political scenario for longer, things would have been very different and the Congress and Pandit Nehru would have accepted certain ground realities. He urged the Karyakartas to salute these great leaders who worked towards the unity of the nation.
The top leaders of the Bihar BJP were present during the interaction with Shri Modi, which was held in three different phases. Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Shri Sushil Modi spoke to Shri Modi and told him that the journey of 2014 that started from Gujarat will travel to Delhi from Bihar. He pointed that the people of Bihar are angry over the betrayal by the BJP’s former coalition partner in the state and he added that this anger is similar to the anger when Governor Buta Singh unceremoniously dissolved the Bihar Assembly in 2005. Shri Sushil Modi invited Shri Narendra Modi for the Hunkar Rally in October 2013 and said that this rally at Patna’s iconic Gandhi Maidan would be the biggest rally that Bihar has ever seen.
Shri Narendra Modi congratulated Shri Sushil Modi for the excellent performance of the BJP in the 2010 Bihar Vidhan Sabha Elections, where the strike rate of the BJP was more than that of the other parties. He told Shri Sushil Modi that people of Gujarat have kept the Congress away for years that the people of Bihar would also do the same.
Shri Modi spoke to former Bihar Minister Shri Ashwini Kumar Chaubey and recalled that he spoke to him when the former Minister was affected in the Uttarakhand floods last month. Shri Chaubey thanked Shri Modi and pointed that he can never forget that for his entire life. Shri Chaubey spoke of the acts of corruption by other parties of Bihar, including the ruling party and other opposition parties in the state. He also said that the Muslim community is seeing through things done in their name and that they want development, which Shri Modi can provide.
Bihar BJP President Shri Mangal Pandey spoke to Shri Modi about the ongoing Vidhan Sabha Karyakarta Sammelan in Bihar and pointed that wherever he goes, he sees the anger of the people against the state Government and that the people see Shri Modi as a future leader of the nation. Shri Modi thanked Shri Pandey and said that everyone must work together for the nation. He pointed that price rise and corruption is killing the people and he prayed to Almighty that he grants strength to the BJP to work for the nation.
Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Shri CP Thakur spoke to Shri Modi and said that the Bihar BJP wants to give 40 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats to Shri Modi. Shri Modi affirmed that these seats are not for Shri Modi himself but for the nation and he thanked Shri CP Thakur for his kind words. Former Bihar Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha Shri Nand Kishore Yadav spoke to Shri Modi during the interaction followed by Shri Bhogendra Thakur from Madhubani.
During the interaction Shri Modi spoke to other Karyakartas as well. In each session he spoke to four Karyakartas. The Karyakartas asked Shri Modi about his views on diverse issues and invited Shri Modi to their respective districts to interact with the workers. The Chief Minister shared his vision on agriculture, water conversation, inclusive growth and employment among other things. The Karyakartas spoke at length about Shri Modi’s popularity in Bihar among all sections of society.
