PM Modi biggest OBC face in country; JD-U finished in Bihar, RJD very weak: Nityanand Rai

New Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the biggest face of the Other Backward Class (OBC) and Extremely Backward Class (EBC) categories in the country, Union minister Nityanand Rai said on Thursday, adding the Bharatiya Janata Party will win all 40 seats in Bihar in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

“The JD-U is finished in Bihar. The RJD has become very weak. Bihar wants to move ahead by becoming free from caste restrictions. Therefore, we will win 40 out of 40 seats in Bihar,” he said.

He said the JD(U)-RJD combine is not a challenge for the BJP in Bihar and the whole country, including the state, has benefited from the developmental programmes under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“There is no bigger face of the OBC community in the country than Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There is no bigger face than him (Modi) even in the EBC community,” he told PTI-Video in an interview.

He was asked about the comments of Janata Dal (United) leaders that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was the most trusted OBC leader in the country.

Rai said PM Modi comes from the OBC community and there is no bigger well-wisher of the backward classes than him. “The entire country agrees with Modi ji’s work and the policy of the Bharatiya Janata Party which follows the principle of universal development and development with justice to all.”

Asked how the BJP-led NDA will deal with the JDU-RJD-Congress alliance in Bihar, the BJP leader said, “There is no challenge.”

He said PM Modi has talked about four classes — women, youths, farmers and poor — and the Modi government works for the welfare of all groups which shows in the party’s victory in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and better performance in Telangana and Mizoram.

Asked about a ‘Yaduvanshi Milan Samaroh’ organised by the BJP in Bihar recently, he said, “The BJP works for all communities”.

He also denied allegations by former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav that the meet was aimed at creating a social rift. “We don’t divide society. Lalu ji created a rift between the Yadav community and other communities. The BJP takes everyone together.”

On newly sworn-in Telangana CM Revanth Reddy’s comment that former state CM K Chandrashekar Rao had “Bihar’s DNA”, Rai said the remark is objectionable.

“This is an insult of Biharis. It shows the culture of Congress. He should apologise,” Rai said.

When asked about Lalu Prasad Yadav’s challenge about contesting elections against any member of his family, Rai said he had requested that someone from Lalu ji’s family contest against him, and he will quit politics if he is defeated.