Nitish Kumar's development card a 'farce': Rahul -Governance Now

Nitish Kumar's development card a 'farce': Rahul

Says migrating Biharis prove that they are better off outside their home-state

PTI | November 3, 2010

Rubbishing as farce the development card of chief minister Nitish Kumar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said Bihar was not shining.

"Bihar shining is a farce. Biharis are shining away from the state, but not in Bihar," the Congress general secretary told election rallies in Barbigha in Sheikhpura and Hisua in Nawada.

"Had Bihar been shining, people would not be migrating to other states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi," he said.

He said that instead of comparing the performance of his government with the 15-year-rule of the RJD, Kumar should do so with the Congress governments in Maharashtra, Assam, Rajasthan and Delhi where much development has taken place.

Alleging corruption in implementation of central schemes, he said, "We (Centre) have provided funds under several schemes like MNREGA, Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojana, Indira Awas Yojana and waived loans of poor farmers, but the money has not reached the rural poor."

Speaking at length about MNREGA, which he described as the world's biggest employment scheme, Gandhi said, "The loan waiver scheme for which the Centre allocated Rs 60,000 crore too met a similar fate. As usual, NDA has forgotten farmers."

Asking people to reject the politics of caste and religion and vote for his party to form a government of 'common people and youth', he targetted Kumar again for his claim of having a secular image.

He raked up Kumar's objection to campaign in the assembly elections by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi while having an alliance with the BJP and said, "Kumar has partnership with NDA, but he opposes the visit of a man from Gujarat to Bihar during elections. Kumar has partnership with not a person, but with an ideology which is responsible for the Gujarat riots."

Defending his party's decision to contest all the 243 assembly seats in the state, Gandhi said Congress preferred this instead of forming an alliance to deliver justice to the people.

Gandhi said he was making sincere efforts to bring more and more young people to Congress.

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