'Viksit' Bihar key for Eastern India development: PM Modi

Motihari (Bihar): In a hard-hitting attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the RJD of seizing land from the poor on the false promise of jobs, in an apparent reference to the 'land-for-jobs' scam, and assert ed that the 'viksit' (developed) Bihar is key for eastern India's development.

Addressing a publicrally in Motihari ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, the PM also coined a new slogan, ‘Banayenge naya Bihar, phir ek baar NDA sarkar' (We will build a new Bihar, once again an NDA government), igniting chants among the crowd and energising party workers. He also alleged that the Congress-RJD combine played politics in the name of the poor and socially marginalised people and blamed the opposition alliance for the state's earlier neglect and stagnation.

The prime minister asserted that he took the resolve of Operation Sindoor from the land of Bihar, and said that the world has witnessed its success. “The RJD can't think of provid ing employment to youths and they (RJD leaders) seized land from the poor on the false prom ise of jobs," the prime minister al leged in a reference to the land for-jobs scam. He also asserted that there was a huge gap in development during the RJD Congress rule in the state.

"They never thought about the betterment of the poor. They only played politics in the name of the poor and the socially margin alised,” he alleged. Promising more opportuni ties for the youth, the PM said the Centre would invest Rs 1 lakh crore in providing jobs and em ployment across the country. Modi also asserted that 'Viksit Bihar' is important for the overall development of eastern India, and said the NDA is concerned about the progress of the state.

"In the last 45 days, the government has released Rs 1,000 crore to 24,000 self-help groups in Bihar. Of the total 1.5 crore 'lakhpati didis' in the country, 20 lakh are from the state," he said.

The PM also said, "Champaran gave a new direction to Mahat ma Gandhi's movement during the country's freedom struggle. We have to develop Motihari like Mumbai." (PTI)