BJP leaders, at a party function dubbed as 'Naman Bankipore' at Sri Krishna Memorial Hall in Patna on Tuesday unloaded on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav saying the two were spent forces and had nothing to offer to the people of Bihar except the return of 'Jungle Raj'. Speaking on the occasion, Union Telecommunication Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the RJD chief did not care an iota about the poor and downtrodden but did care a great deal about his family that he is trying to promote. Ridiculing Kumar's latest political campaign 'Badhta Bihar, Phir Ek Baar Nitish Kumar', Prasad asked where did Yadav, who introduced jungle raj in Bihar, fit in the picture. "Apparently Nitish Kumar is embarrassed to be seen with Lalu Prasad Yadav. All the hoardings and billboards in Patna sport large pictures of Nitish Kumar. The RJD chief is nowhere to be seen. What kind of alliance is this? Riding on the coattails of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Nitish Kumar is poised to bring back jungle raj in Bihar," the BJP leader said. Prasad also accused the Chief Minister of failing to bring economic prosperity to Bihar since splitting away from the NDA in 2013. "In 2012-13, investment proposal of Rs. 17,000 crore came to Bihar; now it has shrunk to about Rs. 8,000 crore. The progress rate was around 14% in 2012-13; now it is about 8%. There is zero growth in Bihar in the last two years even as the crime rate has continued to climb up during the same period," he said. Senior party leader Shatrughan Sinha, while refraining to criticize the Lalu-Nitish duo, said that the NDA will win big in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state that would put Bihar once again on the track of development. Former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, on the other hand, did not hold back and slammed the Nitish administration calling it a 'complete failure on all fronts'. "When Lalu Prasad Yadav talks about social justice, he only means justice for his family. JD-U's arrow in the dimly lit lantern will never hit the target. Bihar needs a government that provides it 24x7 electricity and not just a lantern," the BJP leader said. Others to speak on the occasion included Nand Kishore Yadav, Bhupendra Yadav, Mangal Pandey, Nitin Navin, Arun Kumar Sinha, Dr. C. P. Thakur, Sanjay Mayukh, Sushma Sahu and many others.
