Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited election-bound Bihar and strongly attacked the RJD, calling its rule the “lantern era” that pushed the state into darkness, lawlessness, and backwardness.

He backed a new bill that seeks to stop leaders with criminal backgrounds from contesting elections, saying, “No one can give orders from jail.” PM Modi argued that while even a government employee loses their job if jailed for 50 hours, politicians can continue to run the government from behind bars. He recalled recent cases where leaders signed files and issued orders from jail, asking how corruption could be fought with such practices. He stressed that the NDA government has made strict laws against corruption, which also apply to the Prime Minister.

During his Bihar visit, PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation for development projects worth ₹13,000 crore across power, health, roads, water supply, and urban development. This included a 660 MW thermal power plant in Buxar, the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital in Muzaffarpur, a ₹520 crore sewerage treatment plant in Munger under Namami Gange, and urban projects worth ₹1,260 crore.

He also flagged off two new train services, the Amrit Bharat Express between Gaya Ji and Delhi and the Buddhist Circuit Train connecting Bihar’s Vaishali with Jharkhand’s Koderma. In addition, he took part in a symbolic Grih Pravesh ceremony for 12,000 PM Awas Yojana (Gramin) beneficiaries.

PM Modi’s visit comes at a crucial time, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi continuing his ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar ahead of the assembly polls. After Bihar, the Prime Minister will head to West Bengal to inaugurate metro rail projects and launch road projects worth over ₹5,200 crore, including flagging off metro train services on three new sections.