Kharge also took potshots at the Nitish Kumar government in the state, alleging that it was being run by people “who seem to be blind and deaf”.”I have learnt that attempts were made to prevent our workers from receiving us at the helipad here,” he said.The final speech at the rally was delivered by RJD president Lalu Prasad, who had turned up despite failing health, accompanying his son Tejashwi Yadav, the INDIA bloc’s de facto chief ministerial candidate.Prasad spoke barely for a few minutes and in a feeble voice, seated in his chair, flanked by Gandhi and Kharge.”I urge you people to stand united, drive out the BJP-RSS combine and strengthen democracy,” said the RJD supremo, who evoked peals of laughter as he crooned a stanza from a traditional Bhojpuri number with a hint of ribaldry.The septuagenarian ended his speech with chants of “Rahul Gandhi zindabad, Kharge ji zindabad, Tejashwi Yadav zindabad”.Yadav, who has in the past few months made a slew of promises that he would fulfil upon forming a government, charged the NDA, which has been ruling the state for two decades, with running a “copycat” administration.”For quite some time, the Nitish Kumar government has been coming up with announcements which have been copied from our promises. The latest example is the waiving of charges levied on forms to be filled up by those appearing in competitive exams. But I am sure that the people of Bihar can no longer trust this insincere government and they will vote for a change,” said Yadav, a former Deputy CM who is currently the leader of the opposition.Among other leaders who spoke on the occasion, CPI(ML) general Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya and Vikassheel Insan Party chief Mukesh Sahni lashed out at the Election Commission for “remaining unresponsive to our concerns all through but addressing a press conference on a day we have hit the streets”.CPI(M) politburo member Subhashini Ali said, “I would urge the women of Bihar to take part in the yatra in large numbers. This is because we have learnt that among the 65 lakh people whose names have been dropped from the draft electoral rolls, women form a sizeable proportion.”
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