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Addressing his first election rally in poll-bound Bihar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tributes to the soldiers from the state who had made the supreme sacrifice in the Galwan Valley clash and the Pulwama attack.
"Sons of Bihar lost their lives in Galwan Valley for the tricolour and ensured Bharat Mata's head is held high. Jawans of Bihar were also martyred in Pulwama attack. I bow my head at their feet and pay respects," PM Modi said at the election rally in Sasaram.
The PM, accompanied by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and others, was speaking at the Biada Maidan in Sasaram.
"Bharat's heart is Bihar, Bharat's respect, pride is Bihar, Bharat's culture is Bihar, Bihar is the call for independence, the call for 'sampoorna kranti' (complete revolution) is Bihar, Atmanirbhar Bharat's
flagship is Bihar. Whether it is for the security, or development of the country, the people of Bihar always stay in the front," he added, speaking in Bhojpuri.
The PM thanked the voters of the state for having decided to ensure the National Democratic Alliance's victory and recounted the woes of the state under the Rashtriya Janata Dal rule.
"The people of Bihar cannot forget the day when sunset meant all work had to be stopped. Today there are light, roads, and the most important thing there is that environment where the state's common resident can live without fear," he said speaking about the NDA rule.
"There were those days when under the purview of those who ran the government, dacoities, murders used to happen. Extortion used to happen, in those days when the girl used to step out of the house her family used to be worried till she returned. They used each government job as a source to earn lakhs and crores of rupees, they took bribes from Bihar's youth for posts. The generation might have changed today but the youths need to remember who pushed the state into such difficulties," he added.
The PM remembered and paid tributes to the former Union Minister late Ram Vilas Paswan, and former Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh in his speech.
PM Modi also lauded the timely and fast work done by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.