‘No One Can Give Orders From Jail’: PM’s Push For Bill Against ‘Criminal Netas’ in Bihar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a sharp attack on the opposition in election-bound Bihar, invoking the RJD’s past rule as a “lantern era” of lawlessness while making a strong pitch for a new bill to bar politicians with criminal backgrounds from holding office. Asserting that “no one can give orders from jail,” the Prime Minister accused his rivals of treating the people of Bihar as a mere vote bank while launching development projects worth Rs 13,000 crore in Gaya.

In a clear reference to the proposed legislation that would oust jailed leaders from their posts, the Prime Minister drew a sharp contrast with rules for government employees. “If a government employee is imprisoned for 50 hours, then he loses his job automatically… But a CM, a Minister, or even a PM can enjoy staying in the government even from jail,” Modi said. “Some time ago, we saw how files were being signed from jail and how government orders were given from jail. If leaders have such an attitude, how can we fight corruption?”

The Prime Minister’s visit, his seventh to the state this year, comes at a politically charged time, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ also underway ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. Modi’s political address was coupled with a slew of major development initiatives.

He inaugurated a 660 MW thermal power plant in Buxar, the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital in Muzaffarpur, and the crucial Aunta-Simaria bridge over the Ganga, which is expected to slash travel time between north and south Bihar. He also flagged off two new train services—the Amrit Bharat Express between Gaya and Delhi and the Buddhist Circuit Train connecting Vaishali to Koderma.

The extensive list of projects also included a new sewerage treatment plant in Munger under the Namami Gange programme, several key national highway sections, and a symbolic ‘Grih Pravesh’ ceremony for 12,000 beneficiaries of the PM Awas Yojana. After his Bihar engagements, the Prime Minister is scheduled to travel to West Bengal, where he will inaugurate new metro rail projects and lay the foundation stone for road infrastructure worth over Rs 5,200 crore in Kolkata.