SIWAN: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) at a public rally in Siwan, accusing them of pushing Bihar into poverty and lawlessness during their rule.

Addressing the public meeting, the PM said the people of Bihar have "ended the jungle raj" created by the Congress-RJD combine.

Modi also slammed the RJD for allegedly insulting Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar and said the people of the state would not tolerate the insult to the Dalit icon.

"The RJD and the Congress are responsible for the large-scale migration of labourers from Bihar and for the persistent poverty that plagued the state for decades," Modi alleged.

He claimed that the RJD-Congress governance model was focused on "enriching their own families while ignoring the needs of the people".

"During the Congress's licence raj, their leaders became rich, but the public remained poor," he added.

"The RJD insulted Babasaheb and the people of Bihar will never forgive its leaders. Leaders of RJD and Congress keep photographs of the architect of the Country's Constitution near their feet. I keep his photograph close to my heart," the PM claimed.

Taking a dig at RJD's political approach, Modi said, "We believe in ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', but they believe only in ‘Parivaar Ka Vikas'." Modi warned that the RJD and the Congress, which according to him were responsible for Bihar's troubled past, are again eyeing power.

"They created the jungle raj, and now they want to return. But the people of Bihar will give them a fitting reply in the assembly elections," he said.

The Bihar assembly elections are due in a few months.

Highlighting the achievements of the NDA government, Modi claimed that Bihar has witnessed significant infrastructure development in recent years.

"Under the NDA, 55,000 km of rural roads were constructed, over 1.5 crore households were electrified, and piped water reached 26 crore people," he said.

Modi said that the entire world was acknowledging India's development journey.

"During my recent foreign visit, several world leaders praised India's progress," he noted.