Darbhanga (Bihar) [India], November 4 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday took a jibe at Rashtriya Janata Dal-led (RJD) Mahagathbandhan, saying that the 'jungle raj' witnessed by the people in the past, under the rule of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi, was making attempts to return to Bihar and can be stopped by voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Shah appealed to the people to vote for the BJP's 'lotus' symbol in the assembly elections, scheduled to be held on November 6 and 11.
"When you press the 'Lotus' symbol, it should not be to elect an MLA or minister, but to stop 'jungle raj'. Do you want to bring back the 15 years of 'jungle raj' seen during Lalu and Rabri's tenures in Bihar? This jungle raj wants to come back in disguise. Our job is to select Lotus and stop the jungle raj (from coming back) to make Darbhanga a developed district," Shah said while addressing an election rally here.
Shah further slammed RJD for complaining to the Election Commission of India (ECI) about the timing of a fund transfer of Rs 10,000 to Jeevika Didis.
Addressing a massive crowd of enthusiastic supporters in Darbhanga, with his characteristic fervour, he began to speak, "Recently, Modi ji and Nitish Kumar ji have transferred over Rs 1 crore (Rs 10,000 each) into the bank accounts of Jeevika Didis. But what's shocking is that the RJD has written to the Election Commission to take back this amount from them."
Shah continued, "I want to tell Jeevika Didis that forget Lalu and Tejashwi, even if their past three generations come, they would not be able to take this Rs 10,000 from them."
The NDA government (both central and state) initiated the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana (Chief Minister Women Employment Scheme), under which Rs 10,000 was transferred into the bank accounts of over one crore "Jeevika Didis" (women associated with Self-Help Groups under the Jeevika program) to help them start self-employment ventures.
Amit Shah's words were laced with conviction as he targeted the opposition. "Lalu and Rabri want to make their son the CM, and Sonia Gandhi wants to make her son the Prime Minister. I want to tell them that neither Lalu ji's son will become CM nor Sonia Gandhi's son will become the PM. There is no vacancy for these people."
The Home Minister then outlined the NDA's vision for Bihar's development. "We will construct Kaushal Vikas Kendras in every district in the state. Every district will get a new factory, and 10 new industrial parks will be constructed in the state. Like UP and Tamil Nadu, we will establish a defence corridor in Bihar."
Speaking about proposed development projects in Bihar's Darbhanga, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "A majestic Sita Mata Temple worth Rs 850 crore is being built in Punaura Dham. As soon as the temple construction is completed, we will connect Ayodhya and Sitamarhi by Vande Bharat trains."
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has fielded BJP leader and Bihar Revenue and Land Reforms Minister Sanjay Saraogi from the Darbhanga assembly constituency.
Saraogi, who has been winning from the Darbhanga assembly constituency since 2010, is contesting against Umesh Sahani of Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) and Rakesh Kumar Mishra of Jan Suraaj Party (JSP).
Notably, the Bihar Assembly election campaign for the first phase ends today, with a 48-hour silence period taking effect from Tuesday evening.
Voting for Bihar's 243-seat Assembly will take place in two phases on November 6 and 11. Counting of votes will take place on November 14.