On second Bihar tour, PM Modi to unveil projects worth Rs 12,800 cr

Amid a soaring political temperature in Bihar in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Tuesday set foot in the state for the second time in less than a week.

Modi is scheduled to visit Bettiah town, the headquarters of the West Champaran district, in the afternoon and unveil projects worth Rs 12,800 crore.

Former state BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal, who is the local MP, came out with a video message, urging the people to "turn up in large numbers and welcome the dearest member of our family".

Jaiswal's refrain of "humaare parivaar ke sabse pyaare sadasya" came in the backdrop of the BJP's "Modi ka Parivaar" campaign, in response to a jibe of RJD president Lalu Prasad at a rally in Patna on Sunday.

Prasad, whose three children, including heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, are in politics, had taken potshots at Modi, taunting him for having no family of his own.

The RJD leader was apparently sore over Modi's speeches at back-to-back rallies in Aurangabad and Begusarai districts of the state a day earlier when the PM had unveiled projects worth more than Rs 1.5 trillion.

Modi had lambasted RJD, and its ally Congress, for having used the social justice plank as a "shield" to justify "corruption and dynastic politics".

He had also expressed delight over the BJP-led NDA, which had swept the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Bihar, looking in good shape with the return of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads the JD(U).

By winning back Kumar, the BJP succeeded in breaking his tie-up with RJD, Congress and Left, which would have made Bihar an uphill task for the NDA.

The prime minister has of late been travelling to different parts of the country to launch development projects, with just days left for the Election Commission to announce Lok Sabha polls and the imposition of the model code of conduct.

Among the projects to be launched at Bettiah are an LPG line between Motihari and Muzaffarpur, which would be inaugurated, and an LPG bottling and storage plant of Indian Oil at Motihari, which would be dedicated to the nation.

According to state BJP media co-incharge Danish Eqbal, the PM's aircraft will land at Kushinagar airport in adjoining Uttar Pradesh, which is about 100 km from Bettiah.

He will reach the venue of the function in a helicopter.