In the lead-up to the Lok Sabha elections, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Yadav accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP with attempting to alter the Constitution, cautioning that any efforts to change the Constitution would be met with severe backlash from the public.
In a statement to ANI, the RJD leader asserted that the BJP is in a state of fear, having conceded their defeat. “They are quite terrified and they have accepted that they will lose the elections. They are talking about 400 paar out of anxiety. And their leaders are continuously saying that they will change the Constitution. The Constitution was formed by Baba Saheb and not some random Baba. Whoever will try to change the Constitution, people will gouge out their eyes.”
Lalu Prasad Yadav criticized the BJP, stating that the nation would not accept changes to the Constitution and accused the BJP of moving towards dictatorship “The citizens of the country will not forgive them, they will not tolerate this. They are saying out of fear that they want to bring their rule, their dictatorship, in the country. Changing the Constitution means changing democracy… They are making their way towards dictatorship from democracy.”
Regarding the NDA securing a majority in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Lalu Prasad stated there is no chance of it happening. “There is no possibility of getting a majority and they will not be able to change the Constitution. They are asking for a majority. The BJP, PM Narendra Modi should remember the past when Mohan Bhagwat asked to review the reservation and the citizens of the country didn’t accept it. The same thing is going to happen with them.”
When questioned about PM Narendra Modi’s silence on the issue of changing the Constitution, despite other ministers speaking on it, Yadav criticized the Prime Minister for not acting against those ministers. “If he is not saying but his ministers are saying, then why is he not taking any action… They are asking for a majority… The country now knows them and their leaders. And people are not going to repeat the same mistake again.”
Rohini Acharya, daughter of Lalu Prasad Yadav, criticized BJP’s Sankalp Patra, stating that the manifesto fails to address issues of inflation and unemployment.
“They should raise the issues of the people. The issue of employment and inflation has disappeared from the BJP’s manifesto. They are only targeting Lalu Prasad’s family. They made false promises of providing employment to two crore people, they did nothing on inflation in the past 10 years. Unemployment has increased so much… They should come in front of the people and tell them why they were not able to fulfill the promises. Who has stopped them from fulfilling the promises? People have decided to change the government…”
Bihar is set to conduct polling for its 40 Lok Sabha seats in seven phases. The first phase will see four seats up for election on May 19.