Lalu will 'remote control' Bihar if grand alliance elected: PM Modi

Sasaram, Oct 9: Scaling up his 'jungle raj' pitch, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday warned that RJD Chief Lalu Prasad will "remote control" the affairs in the state if the grand alliance came to power in Bihar.

Addressing a rally in Sasaram, the constituency of Dalit leader late Jagjivan Ram, he also trained his guns on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for getting Jitan Ram Manjhi removed as Chief Minister of the state and accused him of "backstabbing" Dalits. [Bihar Election 2015: Special Coverage]

Manjhi, who now heads Hindustan Awam Morcha (Secular) and is an NDA ally, was also on the stage when Modi attacked Kumar on the issue of Dalits.

"His arrogance will defeat him. He has committed the sin of backstabbing the son of a Dalit. He backstabbed him for personal gains," Modi said.

A day after he asked the electorate in Bihar not to allow Prasad, 'possessed by a devil', to play any role in state affairs, he alleged that the RJD Chief now wants to control the government from outside since he cannot fight the polls himself.

"Why is Laluji out of the poll race this time? What has he done that he is not able to contest the polls and why has he been kept out of the race? What crime did he do that the Indian judicial system had to keep him out of the electoral race? "He now wants to run Bihar through remote control.

He says that he is a 'big boss' and he can make anyone dance to his tune," Modi said reminding people of the conviction of Prasad in the fodder scam.

BJP has been targeting the grand alliance saying with Prasad being a part of it, there will be 'jungle raj 2' in Bihar if the combine came to power.

Modi also referred to recent incident of firing at a policeman in the state saying that it shows that Bihar is under the grip of crime.

He said the state has reported over 4000 cases of kidnapping from January to July this year. Nitish Kumar is seeking a third term as Chief Minister on the ground that law and order in the state under him has improved.

Modi also targeted all the three parties of the alliance -- JDU, RJD and Congress -- on the issue of governance asking as to what development they carried out in last sixty years when they ruled the state.

PTI