Lalu had eaten up fodder, he can’t think about welfare of Bihar's people: Amit Shah in Bihar

Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday slammed RJD supremo Lalu Prasad for his alleged involvement in various scams and alleged that "those who had eaten up fodder cannot think about the welfare of people in Bihar.

He also accused the RJD chief of ignoring the development of Bihar and working only for the betterment of his family.

Addressing a rally in Gopalganj, Shah claimed, "The NDA governments, both at the Centre and in Bihar, have been working for the overall development of Bihar. Those who had eaten up fodder meant for cattle cannot think about the welfare of the people of the state." Prasad was "involved in the bitumen scam, flood relief material supply scam, 'Charwaha Vidyalaya' (school for cattle grazers) scam, and he had also eaten up fodder", the BJP leader alleged.

The fodder scam, in which crores of rupees were fraudulently withdrawn from treasuries such as Doranda, Deoghar, Dumka and Chaibasa, was exposed in the 1990s when Jharkhand was part of Bihar.

Prasad, the former Bihar chief minister, is one of the high-profile politicians who was convicted in the case.

“Lalu-Rabri regime here and Sonia-Manmohan government at the Centre did nothing for Bihar. Lalu Prasad worked for his family only. He tried to make both his sons CM, made his wife Bihar chief minister, sent his daughter to Rajya Sabha, but did nothing for the people," Shah alleged.

He also asserted that Bihar would be made flood-free in the next five years.

"Flood will soon become a thing of the past in Bihar," he said.

The NDA government is also constructing a massive temple at the birthplace of goddess Sita in Bihar, he said.

Shah said the state government is developing 'Punaura Dham Janki Mandir', a Hindu pilgrimage site in Sitamarhi district that is considered the birthplace of the goddess Sita.

A large number of pilgrims visit the 'Punaura Dham' every year.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had, in December 2023, laid the foundation stone for the overall development of the 'Punaura Dham Janki Mandir'. The state cabinet had approved Rs 72.47 crore for the overall development of the 'Punaura Dham'.