'Why so ashamed?': PM Modi asks why Lalu 'missing' from RJD posters; takes jab at Tejashwi

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday stepped up his attack on the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in poll-bound Bihar, questioning why the person responsible for bringing “jungle raj” (lawlessness) to the state is "missing" from the party’s posters.

Although he did not name anyone, the remark was a clear reference to RJD chief and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.

“Look at the posters of the RJD and the Congress. The pictures of the person who brought ‘jungle raj’ to Bihar are either missing altogether or so tiny that they can’t be seen even with binoculars,” PM Modi said at a rally in Katihar.

बिहार की जनता राजनीति की पारखी है। जो कहा जाता है, बिहार की जनता उससे आगे की बात समझ जाती है।

आरजेडी कांग्रेस के पोस्टर्स को देखिए, वो (लालू यादव) वर्षों यहां के मुख्यमंत्री रहे, जो बिहार में जंगलराज लाए, उनकी तस्वीरें या तो पोस्टर्स में गायब है, या छोटी सी लगी है, जो दूरबीन से…

— BJP (@BJP4India) November 3, 2025

“The one who is such a big leader of the RJD, whose entire family is in politics — why are his pictures not being used?” he asked.

PM Modi went on to question why Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son, Tejashwi, was "reluctant" to mention his own father’s name.

“Why are you so ashamed to take your father’s name? What is the wrongdoing that the RJD feels compelled to hide from Bihar’s youth?” he remarked, without naming Tejashwi, the chief ministerial candidate of the RJD-led opposition Mahagathbandhan, which includes the Congress and other allies.

The term “jungle raj” is frequently used by political opponents to attack Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, and the RJD.

RJD hits back at PM Modi

The RJD hit back at PM Modi, with both Tejashwi Yadav and his sister Misa Bharti taking aim at the prime minister.

"PM Modi should talk about the 14 crore people of Bihar, why is he talking about useless things? The kind of profit Lalu Yadav has given to the Railways, PM Modi cannot do that even in 7 births," the Mahagathbandhan CM face retorted.

#WATCH | Patna, Bihar: On PM Modi's remarks on Lalu Yadav, Mahagathbandhan's CM face, and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav says, "PM Modi should talk about the 14 crore people of Bihar, why is he talking about useless things? The kind of profit Lalu Yadav has given to the Railways, PM… pic.twitter.com/dEhgbOVua4

— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2025

"PM Modi has come for Bihar elections or to search for Lalu Yadav's photos? The fear of Lau Yadav has not come out of the minds of NDA leaders and PM Modi. On one side the prime minister of the country talks about 'katta' and on the other side, Tejashwi Yadav talks about providing employment to the youth," Bharti remarked.

#WATCH | Patna, Bihar: On PM Modi's remarks on Lalu Yadav, RJD leader Misa Bharti says, "... PM Modi has come for Bihar elections or to search for Lalu Yadav's photos? The fear of Lau Yadav has not come out of the minds of NDA leaders and PM Modi. On one side the Prime Minister… pic.twitter.com/C0TGqsAbD9

— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2025

Bihar will go to the polls in two phases on November 6 and 11, with counting scheduled for November 14. The election is shaping up as a direct contest between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Mahagathbandhan.