Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday slammed the Bihar government for its failure in controlling violence that erupted after the Ram Navami celebration in some parts of Bihar.
“People of Bihar are worried today. Sasaram and Bihar Sharif are burning. Nitish Kumar cannot control the lawlessness in the state. Vote for the BJP in (the assembly elections) 2025 and rioters will be hanged upside down,” Shah said while addressing a public meeting in Nawada as part of his Lok Sabha Pravas.
Taking a jibe at Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar, Shah said jungle raj has returned in the state. He said that the law and order situation can improve only under the leadership of PM Modi.
Shah who was supposed to address a public meeting in Sasaram had to cancel the program due to the volatile situation in the city. “I was supposed to go to Sasaram but due to unfortunate situations, people are being killed there, bullets are being fired, and tear-gas shelling is happening. I will surely come to Sasaram during my next visit,” Shah said.
“I pray to God that peace is restored at the earliest in the state. There is no point in speaking with the state government here. When I called the Governor, then JDU president Lalan Singh got offended.”
In a press conference that was held just moments after Shah's speech in Nawada, JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar attacked the home minister for bypassing the federal structure and "spoke with the Governor rather than speaking with the elected CM".
"Isn't a person from a backward section acceptable to Amit Shah that he didn't speak with Bihar CM," said the spokesperson.
Shah reiterated that the BJP is not going to align with Nitish Kumar in the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections.
Hitting back at Shah, the JD(U) said the Nitish Kumar government had done a lot of developmental work in Bihar and that the home minister was "tarnishing the image of the state and making false promises". “Nitish will never make Tejashwi the CM of the state,” Shah said.
Shah and BJP president JP Nadda will be visiting the 10 weak Lok Sabha seats identified in the state. Shah said 85 lakh farmers of Bihar were getting the benefits of the PM Kisan scheme.
On the other hand, the JDU asked the union minister to release the name of the people who died in the Sasaram violence and said that his allegations were not true. JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar denied the imposition of Section 144 in Sasaram.
Shah expressed confidence that in 2024, "PM Modi's Lotus" will bloom on all 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the 2024 general elections. "Bihar CM Nitish Kumar won't become Prime Minister. People of the country have decided that Narendra Modi will become the Prime Minister of the country for the third time," he added.
After the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the JDU-RJD alliance in Bihar will collapse and the BJP will form the government," said Shah.