He accused the Mahagathbandhan of trying to bring back the "Jungle Raj" era of extortions, kidnappings and fear in Bihar. He also claimed the first phase of polling in Bihar on Thursday showed a record turnout in favour of the NDA and said that especially women voters had rejected the RJD-Congress alliance. He said that Aurangabad had suffered heavily from Maoist violence during the previous RJD-Congress governments in the past, and that change came only after the formation of the NDA government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The Prime Minister added that the first nine years of Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government's rule, the then UPA government at the Centre did not cooperate. "After 2014, Bihar got the benefit of a double-engine government," he said, adding that the Centre had provided three times more funds for development of Bihar. Accusing the RJD-Congress alliance of being untrustworthy even to its own allies, PM Modi claimed that the RJD insulted the State Congress President Rajesh Ram and gave Congress only those seats that they had not been able to win for last 35 to 40 years.
"Can those who betray their own allies be trusted by the people of Bihar?" he asked. PM Modi also hit out at the Congress over the issue of 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP). He said that the Congress "delayed OROP for 40 years", while the NDA implemented it 11 years ago and spent Rs 1 lakh crore on retired soldiers. PM Modi added that the RJD had earlier given government jobs in return for land, and claimed its poll manifesto was 'false propaganda'. He said that NDA had a track record of delivery -- citing Article 370, Ram Temple, and schemes like free electricity and women's employment assistance.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, addressing a rally in Jamui, said the first phase of polling showed that "Lalu Yadav-Rahul Gandhi's party" has been wiped out from Bihar. He warned that even a small deviation from the lotus (BJP poll symbol) or arrow (Janata Dal-United's poll symbol) will bring back "Jungle Raj" in Bihar. He said that Maoism had once dominated the Jamui–Gaya belt but had been eliminated under the NDA government's tenure. He also added that the BJP and NDA would build a grand temple dedicated to Goddess Sita at the Punoura Dham in Sitamarhi at a cost of Rs 850 crore.
BJP President J.P. Nadda called the "RJD rule" a period of scams and jungle raj. Addressing a rally in Kalyanpur Assembly constituency in East Champaran district, BJP leader Nadda said, "RJD's rule was a reign of Jungle Raj and scams. A large number of heinous crime incidents and corruption have taken place in Bihar. That was Jungle Raj."
"Do you remember the Shilpi Gautam murder case? Shilpi's body was found in the car of a close associate of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's brother Sadhu Yadav. The police suppressed the case. Furthermore, B.B. Biswas, a Dalit IAS officer, had his wife, mother, sister, and maid raped. This incident dragged on for years, and an RJD leader's son was involved. In Siwan, Chanda Babu was asked for a ransom of Rs 2 lakh. When Chanda Babu refused to pay, his two sons were burned alive using acid, and his third son was also murdered. The police told Chanda Babu that if he wanted to save his life, he should leave Siwan. That was the status of RJD-ruled Bihar between 1990 to 2005," the BJP President added.
He highlighted electricity, airports, Ayushman Bharat and railway infrastructure as achievements of the "double-engine government" in Bihar. He said that free solar power under the PM Surya Ghar Yojana would also allow households to earn by selling surplus electricity. He added that women in Bihar received Rs 10,000 per month each under the women's employment scheme and that if the NDA is re-elected in Bihar, Rs 2 lakh will be provided to support self-employment here.
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