Bihar BJP president Nityanand Rai Bihar BJP president Nityanand Rai

Bihar BJP president and Lok Sabha MP from Ujiyarpur Nityanand Rai said here Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had overcome huge odds to lead the country. This should be a source of pride for all, he said, and if any “finger or hand was raised” against him, it would be broken or chopped off. Rai was speaking at a function called by the Vaishya and Kanu (OBC) communities.

Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s journey from his humble past to the post of PM, the Bihar BJP president said: “Jinki ma khana parasti thi, Narendra Modiji ko khana khilane baithti thi, us thaali me ma ko na beta aur bete ko na ma dikhai deti thi. Aaj us paristhiti se uthkar wo desh ke PM bane hain — garib ka beta, uska swabhiman hona chahiye, ek ek vyakti ko iski izzat honi chahiye… (When Narendra Modi’s mother would serve food to him, neither she would see her son in that plate nor the son would see the mother. From such circumstances, he has grown to be PM — the son of a poor, each individual should be honoured by this.)”

Rai added: “..Unki or uthne waali ungali ko, uthne waale haath ko…hum sub milke…ya to tod dein, zaroorat pari to kaat dein. (Any finger or hand raised against the PM, we should get together to either broken or, if need be, chop it off.”

Deputy CM and his party colleague Sushil Modi shared the stage with Rai. When contacted by The Indian Express, Rai said: “I used the expression of breaking fingers and chopping hands as proverbs to convey that we would strongly deal with those who rise against the country’s pride and security. I meant country after I had finished talking about the PM’s inspiring journey”. Rai added that his was an off-the-cuff statement and was not meant for individuals or Opposition parties.

A prominent Yadav leader from Vaishali, Rai took over as Bihar BJP chief in December 2016 as part of the BJP’s attempt to strengthen its base in the Yadav constituency. An MLA from Hajipur, Rai was given a Lok Sabha ticket from Ujiyarpur in 2014 polls. He is one of the top state BJP leaders along with Sushil Modi and ministers Nand Kishore Yadav and Prem Kumar.

At the function, Sushil Modi said that the RJD did not give a single ticket to people from the Kanu community. Reacting to Rai’s remarks, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said: “How can BJP talk about pride — something it does not have?”

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