Shatrughan Sinha meets Nitish at his residence

Modi’s speech today revealed BJP’s strategy to attack the alliance between Kumar, chief of the Janata Dal United – JD(U), and his bitter rival Yadav, which was formed with the sole objective of beating the BJP.

Launching various development projects for poll-bound Bihar here, he stressed that India could progress only through the development of the States and for this the Centre and the States needed to work together. “Lalu had to consume the poison for his family members, but why should the people of Bihar consume poison?” he asked.

Speaking to reporters outside Sadaqat Ashram, the Congress leader took aims at Modi’s record as the Chief Minister of Gujarat saying Bihar had a better track record in children vaccination the Prime Minister’s state was no more developed than Bihar.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Daniawan-Bihar Sharif new railway line; flagged off the Rajgir-Bihar Sharif-Daniawan-Fatuha passenger train and Patna-Mumbai AC Suvidha Express and dedicated to the nation the permanent IIT Campus at Patna.

In an agrarian state like Bihar where farmers comprise a major vote bank, the PM also thanked them for “sowing record pulses and oilseeds this season” after his request on “Mann Ki Baat”, a programme on radio where Modi speaks on subjects close to his heart. “If I was so bad you could have slapped me, strangled me but why did you strangle the development of an entire state”.

Asked whether his meeting with Kumar was an expression of his unhappiness with the party, Sinha said he was called for the first engagement of the Prime Minister in Patna today “which I attended dutifully and beautifully”.

The Prime Minister said that if the NDA was voted to power, “Bihar will have 24-hour power and gas supply”. “14 months and people are still waiting”.

India needs a four pronged revolution-saffron for energy, green for agriculture, white for milk and livestock and blue for fisheries, he said, adding, “this will take off from the eastern Indian states like Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Assam (among others)”. “Let those who want to do politics, do it. But the people of Bihar have been hit because of it”, he said. Under Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramjyoti Yojana, there are projects of Rs 76,000 crore out of which subsidy of Rs 63,000 crore will be given by Central government.

Recalling his promise of giving a special package of Rs 50,000 crore to Bihar during the campaign for Parliamentary election, he said he would fulfil the promise at the right time.