Patna: Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) national president and Minister of Minor Water Resources, Dr. Santosh Suman, launched a scathing attack on the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress, blaming their past governments for the collapse of Bihar’s sugar industry and the mass migration of people from the state, reports Amar Ujala.
Recalling the tenure of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi, Dr. Suman said that the so-called jungle raj led to the shutdown of several sugar mills across Bihar. “People were forced to migrate due to rising crime and collapsing industries,” he said.
Dr. Suman accused the RJD regime of creating a climate of fear and lawlessness, marked by crime, corruption, kidnappings for ransom, and widespread looting. He claimed that seven sugar mills were shut down during the Lalu-Rabri and Congress rule, leaving workers jobless and farmers without markets for their crops.
He pointed out that at one time, North Bihar had 16 operational sugar mills, but seven of them closed during the RJD-Congress era, pushing thousands into unemployment. “This also had a devastating effect on farmers, many of whom had to abandon cash crop farming. Eventually, migration to other states became the only option for survival,” he said.
Highlighting specific closures, Dr. Suman noted that in West Champaran, six sugar mills once operated in Bagaha, Narkatiaganj, Chanpatia, Ramnagar, Majhaulia, and Lauria, but all are now shut. He further stated that Lohat Sugar Mill in Madhubani shut down in 1996, during what he called a time of terror under jungle raj. The Chanpatia mill has been closed since 1994, Motipur Sugar Mill in Muzaffarpur since 1997, and the Samastipur sugar mill has remained locked since 1985.
Dr. Suman’s remarks come amid ongoing political sparring over Bihar’s industrial decline and farmer distress, reigniting the debate over the legacy of previous governments.
