Sasaram: In a high-energy public meeting at Durgadih in Sasaram, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a crowd claimed to be over six lakh strong, asserting that India’s recent military response to the Pahalgam terror attack was a promise fulfilled.
“Sasaram is named after Ram,” he began, invoking Lord Ram and his principle: ‘Praan jaai par vachan na jaai’—life may go, but a promise must never be broken. “I had said from the land of Bihar that the masterminds of the Pahalgam terror attack would not be spared. Today, I have returned to Bihar having kept that promise.”
Modi lauded Operation Sindoor, saying, “The army has turned their [terrorists’] hideouts into rubble. The world has witnessed the power of the vermilion worn by India’s daughters.” He warned that India’s response to terrorism had “not stopped or paused,” and if threats rise again “we will root them out, no matter where they hide—across the border or within it.”
Accompanied by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, PM Modi arrived at the venue in an open jeep to cheering crowds. The rally was held under a 12 lakh square foot tent, reportedly with seating arrangements for four lakh people.
Before the speech, the Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for infrastructure projects totalling over Rs 48,000 crore. Chief among them was the 2400 MW Super Thermal Power Plant at Nabinagar in Aurangabad district, valued at Rs 29,900 crore. “This plant will generate over 1,500 MW of electricity for Bihar alone,” PM Modi said, linking the development push to the state’s economic growth.
In a sharp political attack, PM Modi accused the Congress-RJD alliance of decades of misrule. “The poor were left in poverty, the marginalised without homes, and the backward classes ignored. Those who now talk of social justice looted the land of the poor in the name of jobs,” he said, referring to alleged land-for-job scams. “This is not social justice, this is betrayal.”
He added that Bihar suffered the most during previous governments, “when lakhs left the state in search of work,” and warned voters to remain vigilant against what he called the return of ‘Jungle Raj’.
“Today, Bihar has world-class trains and modernised railways. This could have been done long ago, but those in power then chose self-interest over public good,” the Prime Minister said.
The rally, held amid tight security, is seen as a key political moment in PM Modi’s two-day visit to Bihar, which also saw the inauguration of Patna airport’s new terminal and the foundation laying for Bihta airport.
