Union Home Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah on Thursday raised doubts on the credibility of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, once an NDA ally, and wondered if the people of the state were willing to hand power to a leader “who changed his houses again and again”.

Shah was addressing a rally in Bihar’s Lakhisarai, his first visit to the state following the June 23 opposition meeting hosted by Nitish Kumar in Patna.

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“Paltu babu Nitish Kumar was asking what was done (by the Centre) in nine years. At least have some regard for those with whom you sat and due to whom you became the Chief Minister. A lot of work was done by PM Modi across the country in these nine years,” Shah said, addressing the rally.

The Home minister also made a strong pitch for Narendra Modi’s return to power at Centre and said that the security of the nation had strengthened and India’s standing improved under the Prime Minister’s leadership.

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“These nine years have been years of India’s glory. Wherever PM Modi goes, be it the US or England or France or Egypt – you hear chants of ‘Modi, Modi’. He went to the US recently, some Head of State sought his appointment, some others – his autograph, while some others touched his feet for blessings. This respect for PM Modi across the world is not only his or BJP’s but that of crores of Indians…,” Shah said.

Drawing parallels between the resolve of the incumbent and previous government, Shah said that Pakistan-sponsored terror activities were met with silence under the Congress-led UPA rule whereas the Modi government took decisive action.

“Earlier, when there were attacks by Pakistani inspired terrorists, Sonia-Manmohan government did not give any answer, used to sit in Delhi like Mouni Baba, but when there were attacks in Pulwama and Uri during PM Modi’s tenure, Modi ji responded within 10 days. By doing surgical strike and air strike, entered the house of Pakistan and killed,” he said.

Training guns at the Opposition leaders who arrived in Patna for the meeting, Shah said that parties like Congress, JDU, RJD, and Trainamool Congress always claimed that if Article 370 is removed, “rivers of blood” will flow in Kashmir.

“Rahul Baba, forget rivers of blood, nobody even dared to throw a pebble.”

Talking potshots at BJP’s estranged ally Nitish Kumar, Shah said that there were now doubts on his credibility. “Can a leader who changes house, again and again, be trusted? Should the reins of Bihar be given into the hands of such a man? He too knows it. That is why he is sitting in front of Congress house to be the PM of the country. He doesn’t want to be the PM; he is just befooling Lalu Yadav at this age. He wants to stay here in Bihar and has gathered all rivals of the BJP… These 20 parties are the ones who indulged in corruption and scams of Rs 20 lakh crores from 2004-2014,” he said.

Upon his arrival at the airport in the afternoon, Shah was received by senior BJP leaders, including the party’s state president Samrat Choudhary and union ministers from Bihar. This visit comes nearly three months after Shah’s previous trip to the state.

Speaking to ANI, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, revealed that after the rally, Shah would visit the residence of Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, Vijay Kumar Sinha, where a meeting of the Lok Sabha Core Committee would take place.

It is worth noting that this visit to Bihar marks Shah’s fifth in a span of nine months since his party was ousted from power in August 2022 when Nitish Kumar’s decision to sever ties with the BJP brought an end to the coalition government in the state.