AMN / PATNA
Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah on Thursday said that the NDA government has extended more than ₹14.85 lakh crore in development assistance to Bihar over the past 11 years, marking a sharp contrast with the UPA era. He noted that between 2004 and 2014, during the UPA regime, the state had received only ₹2.80 lakh crore.
Addressing a gathering of BJP leaders and workers in Begusarai, Shah accused the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress of misleading people over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign of electoral rolls. He clarified that the exercise is only aimed at removing infiltrators, not Indian citizens, from voter lists. “No Indian citizen’s name will be removed from the voter roll. The SIR is meant to clean up the rolls and ensure infiltrators cannot vote,” Shah asserted.
Reiterating the BJP’s stance, he said that infiltrators would not be allowed to vote under any circumstances, accusing RJD and Congress of opposing the process due to “vote-bank politics.”
Earlier in the day, Shah arrived in Begusarai and participated in a meeting at the Refinery Township ground. The meeting was attended by leaders and workers from 10 districts, including Patna Rural, Patna Metropolitan, Barh, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Munger, Jamui, Lakhisarai, and Khagaria. Union ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and senior party functionaries were present at the event, which was convened to prepare for upcoming elections and strengthen the party organisation.
Shah called on BJP workers to remain active down to the booth level to ensure electoral success. He also addressed party leaders and workers at Dehri-on-Sone in Rohtas district earlier in the day, continuing his outreach to the grassroots cadre in Bihar.