In another veiled attack on Narendra Modi’s development model, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that his Government is pursuing a model which is basically based on the principle of development with justice to all instead of making too much emphasis on industrial growth.
Delivering his Independence Day address after hoisting the Tricolor at the historic Gandhi Maidan on Thursday, he said that Bihar has proved that a backward State can also develop and its model can be well replicated in other backward regions of the State too. Without making any explicit reference to Gujarat’s thrust on industrial development and SGDP growth, the Chief Minister said that Bihar does not have ports like some other States but still the State managed to progress by implementing its “very own model”.
He said that Bihar was never known for business and trade but it has a glorious past with very rich heritage and people of the State should not have only pride in it but they should also protect it. “Bihar’s map is dotted with places of great learning like Vaishali, Nalanda and Vikramshila,” he noted.
He said that industrial progress and GDP growth alone cannot be parameters for measuring development as benefits of economic advancement should reach all sections of the society. Once again asking the Centre to accord special status to Bihar, Nitish Kumar said that the Centre should accord the special category to the State as it is the aspiration of more than 10 crore people living in the State. He said that the campaign for the special status would only be accelerated if the Centre does not concede the State’s demand.
Expressing his concern over communal disturbances taking places in certain pockets of the State including Nawada and Bettiah, Nitish Kumar said that some people are trying to disturb peace and harmony in the State, exhorting people to frustrate all such attempts by remaining vigilant.
The Chief Minister also announced to increase the salary of the contractual teachers by `3,000, a decision which is likely to assuage the frayed tempers of teachers largely.
Nearly 2.5 lakh contractual teachers were quite agitated against the State Government for not enhancing their salary and had even demonstrated against Nitish Kumar while he was on “Adhikar Yatra” last year. The Chief Minister was greeted with black flags and had faced very hostile groups of contractual teachers during his “Adhikar Yatra”.