'Bihar's Choice Between Jungle Raj And Development': Amit Shah's Poll Cry

In a scathing attack on the Congress and its ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Union Home Minister Amit Shah today said RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi "destroyed" Bihar and the state has seen development under the Narendra Modi government.

Addressing a public gathering in Gopalganj, Lalu Yadav's home district, Mr Shah said Bihar has to decide ahead of the Assembly polls later this year if it wants a "jungle raj" -- a term frequently used by the BJP and JDU to refer to the RJD rule in Bihar -- or a government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that focuses on development. "Bihar has to decide if it wants Lalu-Rabri's jungle raj or the development path of Modiji and Nitish Kumar. What the Congress could not do in 65 years, Narendra Modi did in 10 years. Please vote in an NDA government again. We will make Bihar flood-free within five years," he said.

The NDA came to power in Bihar in 2000 with Nitish Kumar as Chief Minister. The alliance has ruled Bihar for two decades. In the last 25 years, there have been two occasions when Nitish Kumar switched to the Opposition camp and ran the state government in alliance with RJD. Mr Kumar is now back in the NDA camp and is prepping with the BJP for the Bihar polls.

Targeting Lalu Yadav and his family, Mr Shah said, "Lalu-Rabri regime here and Sonia-Manmohan government at the Centre did nothing for Bihar. Lalu's two sons are now prepping for the Chief Minister post. His daughter (Misa Bharti) is in Parliament. His wife Rabri Devi is also a member of the House (legislative council). Lalu is busy 'setting' his family. He did not 'set' the youngsters in Bihar. But Narendra Modi gave jobs to the youth."

Mr Shah said the Narendra Modi government ensured the construction of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya and plans to build a temple for Mata Janki -- an epithet used for Sita -- in Bihar.

To reach out to the people of the state, Mr Shah said the BJP government at the Centre has encouraged holidays for the Chhath festival. "The Centre has allocated Rs 9 lakh crore for Bihar's development. Thirteen greenfield expressways are being built. We will build seven bridges with an outlay of Rs 8,000 crore. The Centre also set up a makhana board in Bihar," he said, listing the Budget announcements for the state.

Bihar was a big winner in this Budget, with the government making key announcements for the state. The announcements were seen against the backdrop of the upcoming state polls and JDU's critical support to the BJP after it fell short of a majority in the general election last year.

Hitting back at Mr Shah, RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav called him the "hero of Gujarat's jungleraj". "For 20 years, Bihar has had a JDU-BJP government. The law and order situation is deplorable. We want to know what work the BJP has done for Bihar's development. Bihar has failed in terms of education, per capita income and investment. And we are at the top in migration for work. NDA has done nothing other than looting Bihar," he said.

Mr Yadav said that the people of Bihar know everything and they have made up their minds to usher in change in the state.