‘Lalu Prasad ate up fodder, he can’t think about Bihar’s welfare’: 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 “ate up fodder” cannot think about Bihar’s welfare.

Addressing a rally in Gopalganj, Shah accused Prasad of ignoring the development of Bihar and working only for the betterment of his family.

“The NDA governments, both at the Centre and in Bihar, have been working for the overall development of Bihar. But those who ate up fodder meant for cattle cannot think about the welfare of the people of the state,” he alleged.

Shah further claimed that Prasad was involved in several scams, including the bitumen scam, the flood relief material supply scam, and the ‘Charwaha Vidyalaya’ (school for cattle grazers) scam. The fodder scam, exposed in the 1990s when Jharkhand was still part of Bihar, involved fraudulent withdrawals of crores of rupees from treasuries in Doranda, Deoghar, Dumka, and Chaibasa. Prasad, a former Bihar chief minister, is one of the high-profile politicians who was convicted in the case.

Shah alleged, “The Lalu-Rabri regime here and the 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 the Rajya Sabha, but did nothing for the people.”

Shah 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 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 temple’s overall development.