Row over Sita’s birthplace: Congress demands apology from PM Modi

New Delhi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Bihar’s Sitamarhi on Saturday for campaigning, the Congress launched a sharp attack on his government, calling it an insult to Bihar’s faith, cultural pride, and Mithila’s identity to claim that there is no historical evidence of Goddess Sita’s birth in Sitamarhi.

Will the Prime Minister apologise in Sitamarhi?

Just before the prime minister’s visit, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed several questions, asking whether Modi would “publicly apologise before stepping onto the sacred soil of Sitamarhi”.

Ramesh accused the prime minister of showing “step-motherly” treatment towards Bihar and discriminating against the state by not setting up a textile park and cancelling the Motihari–Shivhar–Sitamarhi rail link.

He added in a post on X that “even after 20 years of NDA rule, when the Prime Minister sets foot on Bihar's soil, all he remembers for Biharis is guns, sixers, and bullets – but when it comes to Bihar's development, all he has are heaps of fake promises and deceit.”

Why was Bihar left out of the textile park scheme?

The Congress leader said that while the central government had announced the creation of seven mega textile parks under the PM-MITRA scheme in 2021–22, Bihar was not among the seven states chosen in May 2023.

“Even though Textile Minister Giriraj Singh, notorious for his communal statements, hails from Bihar itself – still, he couldn't secure even a single textile park for his own state,” Ramesh said.

He went on to recall that “during the elections, the NDA’s manifesto claimed that by developing the Mithila Textile Park and Ang Silk Park, Bihar would be turned into South Asia's textile hub. But the truth is that in a written response in the Lok Sabha in February 2025, the Ministry of Textiles stated: ‘No proposal from Bihar for PM-MITRA has been approved, and there is no such plan until 2027–28.’”

According to Ramesh, the Bihar government sent a proposal on 10 December 2024 to the Ministry of Textiles to reconsider the plan for a PM-MITRA park in West Champaran, but “the central government has taken no action on it till date.”

“The question to the prime minister is: Why this step motherly treatment and discrimination toward Bihar?” he asked.

Ramesh referred to an April 12, 2017 statement in the Rajya Sabha, where, he said, “the BJP government stated: ‘There is no historical evidence of Mother Sita's birth in Sitamarhi’ and this response was given by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.”

“This statement is a direct insult to Bihar's faith, Mithila's identity, and cultural pride,” he alleged.

He also claimed that the Congress government, between 2011 and 2013, had planned to develop Bihar’s major religious sites, including Sitamarhi–Punoura Dham, as part of a religious tourism heritage project under the Ramayana Circuit.

“But under the BJP government: PRASHAD scheme (2015) – Not a single rupee allocated for Sitamarhi. Swadesh Darshan (2014) – even though it included in the Ramayana Circuit, Sitamarhi was neglected,” Ramesh said.

“The question to the prime minister is: When your own government insulted Bihar's faith in Parliament – will you publicly apologise before stepping onto the sacred soil of Sitamarhi today? Why is there no interest from you in preserving and developing Bihar's religious sites?” he asked.

Why was the Sitamarhi Rail Project cancelled?

The Congress leader further said that the Motihari–Shivhar–Sitamarhi rail line project was cancelled even though people in the region had long demanded it.

“It was announced in the budget, headlines were made, but on August 7, 2024, the Ministry of Railways quietly cancelled the project, citing low traffic projections,” he noted.

“Sitamarhi is a religious and cultural centre and a strategically important area connected to the international border. Then why was this project given low priority? What is the fault of Sitamarhi's people? Will the prime minister give them an answer?” he asked.

Will Bihar vote for change?

Ramesh concluded by saying that “the people of Bihar have been enduring the false promises and continuous discrimination from this BJP–JDU ‘trouble-engine’ government's 20-year rule. This time, Bihar will vote for change. It will vote to remove the NDA from power.”

The Bihar Assembly elections are currently underway. The second phase of polling is scheduled for November 11, following the first phase held on November 6. The counting of votes will take place on November 14.

PTI inputs