Saharsa: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of blocking development projects in Bihar by pressuring the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, allegedly to “avenge” its 2005 ouster from power in the state.
Addressing a rally in Saharsa, Modi claimed that the Congress reluctantly accepted Tejashwi Yadav as the INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial face after the RJD “placed a katta (country-made gun) on its head.”
“In this election, the Congress — already a spent force in Bihar — has resolved to sink the RJD,” he said, urging people to “punish the RJD for its sins,” while asserting that “the NDA stands for development, the jungle raj forces for destruction.”
Modi alleged that after Nitish Kumar formed the government in 2005, the RJD, then part of the UPA, pressured then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to stall major infrastructure projects in Bihar, including the Kosi Mahasetu, which had been sanctioned under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
“The RJD cannot understand the pain of the Kosi region, which was relieved by the construction of the bridge,” he said, adding that the NDA manifesto includes plans for flood control and river interlinking.
Speaking in a Muslim-majority area, the Prime Minister accused the RJD-Congress alliance of being lenient towards “infiltrators” and disrespectful towards the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the Chhath festival.
“Their leaders find time to travel abroad but not to visit Ayodhya. If they dislike Lord Ram so much, they can at least visit the monuments of Nishad Raj and Valmiki,” Modi remarked, in an apparent dig at the opposition’s caste-based politics.
Praising women achievers, Modi said, “From the land of Sita, Bharti, and Gargi, I congratulate our daughters for winning the Cricket World Cup.” He said those who mocked the “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” campaign should now feel ashamed for underestimating Indian women.
He urged women beneficiaries of NDA welfare schemes to “beware of the jungle raj wallahs,” warning that they would end such initiatives if voted to power.
The Prime Minister also highlighted his connection with Bihar, pointing to a garland made of makhana gifted to him at the event. “I gift makhana boxes to world leaders and tell them it represents the hard work of Bihar’s farmers,” he said.
Criticizing the alleged lawlessness during RJD’s rule, Modi said, “Even honest police officers were unsafe. Those working on highways were murdered. People from backward and extremely backward classes faced atrocities. DSP Satyapal Singh was killed here in Saharsa for acting against lawlessness.”
Without naming Rahul Gandhi, Modi took aim at the Congress leader’s promise to build a university at Nalanda. “They dream of returning to power and setting up a university at Nalanda, but I want to tell them — a modern Nalanda University already exists. When they were in power, they sanctioned just Rs 20 crore and forgot about it. After 2014, our government spent Rs 2,000 crore to make it a reality,” he said.
