Patna: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on the final day of campaigning for the second phase of the Bihar Assembly election, launched a fierce attack on the RJD and Congress, accusing the Lalu-Rabri era government of pushing Bihar into jungle raj.
Addressing a rally in Arwal, Shah said that Bihar had once been plagued by Naxal violence, and alleged that massacres had taken place during the 1990-2005 period.
He claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had ended jungle raj and freed the state from Naxalism.
Shah reminded that Arwal — then part of Jehanabad district — had witnessed several massacres in that era.
Targeting the Congress leadership, the Home Minister alleged that Rahul Gandhi had undertaken his recent yatra to protect infiltrators, and asserted that the NDA would identify and remove every single infiltrator from Bihar and the country.
He further claimed that the Opposition was treating infiltrators as a vote bank, whereas the NDA had the support of the youth and “Lakhpati Didis”.
Shah also accused the Congress of using Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s name only for electoral benefit, arguing that Congress did not honour him properly while it was in power.
He highlighted the Modi government’s decision to mark November 26 as Constitution Day and April 14 as National Harmony Day.
Referring to the first phase of polling, Shah claimed, “Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD and Rahul Gandhi’s Congress had already been wiped out from this election.”
“I urge voters in Magadh not to allow the return of the RJD. Even a small mistake could bring back jungle raj in Bihar,” he said.
Shah also claimed that the Modi-Nitish government had transferred Rs 10,000 each into the bank accounts of 1.41 crore Jeevika Didis — women associated with the state’s self-help group network — and promised that if the NDA returned to power, another Rs 2 lakh would be deposited in their accounts over the next two-and-a-half years.
He further listed several development projects, saying that the Modi government had revived the Barauni fertiliser plant and the Riga sugar mill, and set up two IT parks, while a textile park was under construction.
He said the NDA planned to establish 25 new sugar mills in Bihar in the coming days.
Shah alleged that the CPI(ML) and Left parties would drive away industries if voted to power.
Drawing a political analogy, the Union Home Minister said that all five NDA partners were fighting the election together like the five Pandavas, while the Mahagathbandhan, he alleged, was struggling with internal discord.
(IANS)
