SOUNDS POLL BUGLE IN BIHAR, CALLS FOR POLITICAL CONTINUITY

Less than 100 days before Bihar heads into Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Motihari and launched, inaugurated, and dedicated development projects worth over Rs 7,000 crore, making a strong pitch for infrastructure growth, welfare delivery, and political continuity in the state.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA NEW DELHI

Addressing a packed crowd, Modi began his 35-minute speech by greeting the audience in Bhojpuri, evoking a sense of local pride and cultural rootedness.

PM Modi started by offering salutations to Baba Someshwarnath and invoked the historic legacy of Champaran in India's freedom struggle. He said that the same land that once gave a new direction to Mahatma Gandhi will now shape the future of Bihar. He also drew a parallel between the rising power of Eastern countries in the global order and the emergence of Eastern India as a new growth engine within the country, stating, "Just as the East is rising globally, this is also the time of the East in India."

PM Modi reminded the crowd of a statement he had made on 24 April in Madhubani following the Pahalgam terror attack. "I had promised from the soil of Madhubani that the perpetrators would be taught a lesson. Today, the world has seen the result of Operation Sindoor," he said, reaffirming his government's firm stance on terrorism and national security.

In a personal and spontaneous moment, a man from the audience presented Modi with a miniature replica of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. He paused midspeech, instructed SPG personnel to collect the gift, and asked the man to write his name and address so he could reach out to him later.

The moment drew widespread applause.

In what was his sixth visit to Bihar this year, the Prime Minister took a swipe at the previous governments, stating that in the ten years before 2014, Bihar received only Rs 2 lakh crore from the Centre, which he termed political vendetta against the Nitish Kumar-led administration of the time.