"They fear arrest if PM Modi...": Sushil Modi rips into Opposition ahead of mega meet in Patna

Patna (Bihar) [India], June 22 : Taking a dig at the Opposition over the mega meeting on Friday, BJP MP Sushil Modi on Thursday said all the Opposition leaders accused of "corruption" have come together fearing arrest once Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns for a third term in office after next year's Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking toon Thursday, Sushil Modi claimed that the BJP will bag all 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the next general elections.

"Congress and RJD are saddled with corruption. Their leaders fear that if PM Modi returns for a third term in office, they will all be put behind bars. The Opposition leaders have come together fearing arrest," he told ANI.

The former Bihar deputy chief minister claimed that through the mega meeting on Friday, the Opposition leaders would not be able to send out a message of unity to the people.

Describing Bihar as the centre of "political upheavals", the BJP leader said the party (RJD), which doesn't even have a single MP in the Lok Sabha is out to challenge a party (BJP) which has 303 members in the Lower House.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) bagged 353 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, with the saffron party alone winning 303 seats.

"It (opposition meeting) has not been called to save democracy, but to save the family," he said without taking names.

On the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), led by former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, withdrawing support to the Nitish government, the BJP leader took a dig at the JDU chief, saying, "He (Nitish Kumar) failed to keep his flock together. How can he bring the Opposition leaders into a grand alliance?"

The meeting of Opposition leaders on Friday will be attended by Congress leaders, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, among others.

The Friday meeting is aimed at laying the groundwork for the coming together of like-minded Opposition parties against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government at the Centre.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has been spearheading efforts to bring all Opposition parties together against the BJP government at the Centre, with an eye on next year's Lok Sabha polls.