Modi takes 'car loot' swipe at RJD; Rabri hits back with 'nation loot' jibe

Muzaffarpur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked the opposition RJD in Bihar, alleging that during its 'jungle raj', leaders of the party used to raid showrooms and decamp with cars.

The remark the PM made at an election rally in Muzaffarpur was seen as an indirect reference to an incident during the wedding of then Bihar CM Rabri Devi's eldest daughter Misa Bharti, the MP of Pataliputra, when, allegedly, several brand-new vehicles were forcefully taken out of showrooms for the ceremony.

"Today, with prosperity and savings facilitated by revised GST rates, young men in Bihar are investing in motorcycles. This is a far cry from the jungle raj era when vehicle showrooms were being shut down," Modi said.

"The reason was not that people did not want to buy vehicles, but the fact that leaders of the RJD used to raid showrooms and decamp with looted cars," he alleged.

When Rabri Devi's response was sought on the PM's charge, she shot back, "It is he who should be called a thief. He has looted the nation."

Notably, Rabri Devi had been a homemaker till 1997 when her husband Lalu Prasad, the RJD president, stepped down as the CM following a CBI charge sheet in the fodder scam.

The alleged incident has often been blamed on Rabri Devi's brothers, Sadhu Yadav and Subhash Yadav, who have now parted ways with their sister but were known to enjoy a lot of clout while she was the CM.