Patna: Tejashwi Yadav, the Chief Ministerial face of the Mahagathbandan in Bihar, has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for selectively pointing out the issues of Bihar.
Modi did rallies in Bihar Friday in which he called the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s erstwhile 15-year rule as lawless.
Reacting to Modi’s criticism, Tejashwi Yadav said, “The Prime Minister said that an atmosphere has been created for a person. I believe it was for me. I want to tell him that I am raising issues related to common people of state. The BJP through its manifesto said that it would create 19 lakh jobs to counter the RJD promise of 10 lakh government jobs. They are not giving surety about when and what would be the time frame to create jobs. On the other hand, my time is fixed. I will give jobs through the first signature of the cabinet meeting.
“The Chief Ministerial face of the NDA is Nitish Kumar who was laughing on my 10 lakh job promise. The BJP is saying 19 lakh jobs. Now, it is a confusing type of situation as the two alliance partners are giving contradictory statements. If my 10 lakh job-promise is not feasible, then how would they create 19 lakh jobs,” Tejashwi Yadav said.
“Nitish Kumar has failed to bring industries in Bihar while giving the excuse of Bihar being a landlocked state. Now, the BJP leaders claim to get industries in Bihar. When Lalu ji was the railway minister, he had established three industries in Chapra, Madhura and Madhepura in Bihar. I want to ask them who had stopped them from creating jobs and how many jobs were created in the last 15 years,” he said.
“I want to put it in perspective of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi that during first tenure from 2004 to 2009, the Centre had given an economic package of Rs 1.44 lakh crore to Bihar. Modi should ask Nitish Kumar about it. It is in public domain,” he said.
“The people of Bihar want to listen to PM Narendra Modi to point out the corruption cases. In 2015, PM Modi had given a list of 35 scams wherein Bihar government under the leadership of Nitish Kumar was involved. He had said in a political rally on that occasion in Bihar. Now, 25 more scams are added to the list and the Bihar government has admitted this as well,” Tejashwi Yadav said.
“People are also expecting him to talk about the flood situation in Bihar. It is an international issue where water comes from Nepal and accumulates in the low lying areas of Bihar. Due to this, around 20 districts of Bihar drown in flood every year. People would be expecting some solution from PM Narendra Modi but he did not say anything,” he said.
“Nitish Kumar has longstanding demand for a special status of Bihar. Now, there is a double engine government in Bihar, people eagerly are waiting for PM Modi to announce it but he did not say anything on it,” Tejashwi Yadav said.
“I want to remember PM Modi about his promise of two crore jobs per year. As per his mathematics, 12 crore jobs would have been created in the last six years. I want him to reveal how many jobs they have given in the last six years. I also want to challenge him that five lakh jobs would not have been given in the last five years in the BJP-ruled states. If they did that please put in the know of the public,” he said.
“When PM Modi came to Bihar for election campaign in 2014, he said if his government came to power in the Centre, he would open a sugar mill in Motihari and drink tea made of sugar produced in that mill. That unit is still shut. Why he has not referred to that mill in his speech. When Mahagathbandhan comes in power, all the sugar mills, paper industries and others will be opened,” he said.
“There was a provision of 90:10 ratio of the Centre and the state to invest in the government projects during the UPA regime. Now, under the NDA, the ratio has reached 50:50. Now, you can imagine how much burden the states have these days, especially Bihar, which is considered as the poor state,” Tejashwi Yadav said.
“In a report of the Niti Aayog, Bihar, on various parameters, is declared as the most backward state in the country. As PM Modi is the chief of Niti Aayog, he has not elaborated the reason for backwardness of Bihar,” he said.
IANS