Rajnath Singh's Rally Blitz: Surplus Rations and Economic Claims in Bihar

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, during his rallies in Bihar, touted the government's achievements such as surplus in free ration distribution, low food inflation, and inexpensive internet. He criticized the opposition for false claims about price rise and unemployment, and highlighted initiatives like Mudra Yojana and Ayushman Bharat for public welfare.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday claimed that under the free ration scheme, people were getting more foodgrains than they could consume and ending up selling the surplus in the market.

The former BJP president, who addressed four back-to-back rallies in Bihar, also lambasted the opposition for ''false allegations'' of price rise and joblessness, claiming that food, urea fertiliser and internet were ''cheapest in the world'' in India, where the unemployment rate was also lower than in the US and China.

Singh addressed the rallies, two in Karakat Lok Sabha constituency and one each in Buxar and Patna Sahib, seated in his chair, urging the people to excuse him since he had injured his leg at a recent election meeting.

''Are you not getting 5 kg of foodgrains each? I know if there are four members in a family, each is getting a supply of 5 kg and those who are not able to consume it, sell off the surplus,'' Singh said with a chuckle, breaking into the local dialect of Bhojpuri.

He also spoke of the Kisan Samman Yojana, saying the Rs 6,000 that the beneficiaries get would enable them to meet their expenses on tobacco, if not anything else.

''I do not mean we have done a favour by coming up with welfare measures, and building toilets and pucca houses. We, in the BJP, see politics as an opportunity to serve the people,'' he added.

''There is so much hullabaloo around price rise. I would like to tell you that food inflation in the country is the lowest in the world at 2.91 per cent. In the US, it is 7.79 per cent, 19 per cent in France, 8.5 per cent in Australia, 48 per cent in Pakistan and 21 per cent in Sri Lanka,'' he said.

Singh said it can be checked on the internet that the prices of urea fertilisers are the lowest in India, which also accounts for the highest number of digital transactions, ''thanks to the availability of the cheapest internet connection in the world''.

''Our opponents also keep complaining about unemployment. Our government has been promoting entrepreneurship through schemes such as Mudra Yojana. Our unemployment rate is lower than in so many developed countries like the US, China, France, Italy and South Africa,'' he claimed.

He also challenged the Congress and its ally RJD, to counter him on these facts, saying that ''if there is a mistake, I will admit it since I have never tried to cheat people in my political career''.

Singh also said that the BJP stood out among political parties for standing by its word, citing the examples of abrogation of Article 370, which was promised ''way back in the 1970s by Jan Sangh'' and the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

''It was at my instance that the Citizenship Amendment Bill was drafted since I was moved to see the living conditions of refugees from Pakistan and Bangladesh, who had fled these countries because of religious persecution. Later, when the NDA got sufficient numbers in Parliament, Amit Shah got the bill passed,'' said the former home minister.

He said the NDA was now aiming to implement a nationwide Uniform Civil Code, and slammed the opposition for promising freedom of personal laws, which was tantamount to ''supporting practices like triple talaq that caused untold miseries to our sisters and daughters''.

Singh mocked the Congress, claiming that it would soon be extinct like dinosaurs, and likened the RJD to a lantern, the party's poll symbol, of which the flame had grown unsteady since the oil was running dry.

Training his guns at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Singh said the ''raajkumar'' (prince) has admitted to the failings of successive governments of his party by stating that the ''system'' did not allow Dalits and OBCs to achieve success.

He said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is on course to becoming the third largest economy in the world.

''Gone are the days when on international forums, we were taken casually. Now, when India speaks the world listens intently,'' he said.

''Pakistan does not dare to send terrorists anymore... Russia and Ukraine agreed to halt their war to enable the safe return of our students stranded there,'' he claimed.

Singh also said that after the elections, people should look forward to greater welfare measures from the Modi government, and remarked, ''People from all social segments, if they are more than 70 years of age, will become eligible for free medical treatment under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. You never know, Modi may approve it in the first cabinet meeting itself.''