Rajnath Singh said the NDA is determined to make India “bharashtachar mukt” during his Bihar campaign speech.
He praised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as one of the country’s most corruption-free leaders.
Singh invoked L.K. Advani’s example of political morality while urging votes for JDU’s Shalini Mishra.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday reiterated the NDA’s commitment to making India “bharashtachar mukt” (corruption free) while campaigning in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections. “One day this country will be corruption free, and the NDA is committed to making it,” Singh declared, noting that Bihar, like other states, has made progress in tackling corruption, reported The New Indian Express.
Addressing a rally in support of JDU candidate Shalini Mishra, whose constituency votes on 11 November, Singh urged people to build a “more empowered Bihar,” one that reflects the vision of a “Viksit” (developed) state. According to The New Indian Express, he emphasised that good governance and transparency were key to Bihar’s continued development under the NDA.
Describing Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who leads the NDA in Bihar, as “one of India’s cleanest and most corruption-free politicians,” Singh said, “No one can level even a word of corruption against Nitish Kumar.”
In an apparent reference to RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Singh remarked that “a politician should not speak too much if he is accused of corruption,” though he made no direct mention of Tejashwi Yadav, the Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial candidate.
TNIE reported that Singh also cited L.K. Advani as an example of political morality, recalling how the veteran leader had resigned in the past following an unfounded allegation. “A politician should resign after an allegation of corruption is made, or at least until he or she is proven innocent,” Singh said.
“A politician should do whatever is promised by him. There should be a moral and dharma,” he added, appealing to voters to support Shalini Mishra and the NDA’s campaign in Bihar, according to The New Indian Express.
(With inputs from The New Indian Express)
