A day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar released his Government’s eighth report card reiterating that good governance would continue in the State, the State BJP on Tuesday charged that report card was like Kumar’s “ration card”. The BJP also released its report card highlighting failures of the Government ever since both the parties parted ways five months ago.
“There are all together 127 pictures of Nitish Kumar in the report card released by him on Monday…it looks like his ration card,” State BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav said while taking a swipe at Bihar Chief Minister. The senior BJP leader and former deputy of Kumar in his Cabinet Sushil Kumar Modi released party’s report card along with all the BJP leaders who were Ministers in the Nitish Cabinet.
The 48-page report card captioned “Vishwasghat ke paanch mahine, Sansat mein shushasan” carried an interesting caricature on its cover-page displaying Kumar overburdened with all the 18-departmemnts he is heading these days after the BJP Ministers quit and his right leg fractured and bandaged. The Bihar Chief Minister is also shown holding a crutch on right side reflecting his “lameduck Government”.
While releasing the report card, BJP leader Sushil Modi said that in the last five and half months after the alliance was snapped, “governance has become the biggest casualty”. “Ever since Nitish Kumar parted ways from the BJP, governance has taken backseat and bureaucracy is not listening to everyone”.
“What I want to say is that in political governance perception is important and today the perception is that law and order in the State has declined in the last five-and-half months,” said Shushil Modi. Modi also said that there was nothing new in the Chief Minister’s report card except that as usual Kumar has taken all the credit for himself. “There has been no new declaration in the report card and whatever Kumar has said had been initiated when we’re in Government together,” Modi further said.
“But I must admit that NDA - II had become complacent and being a Finance Minister of the State earlier I can say that the financial position of the State is not good as the Government has no money to work for any developmental work,” Sushil Modi explained. The senior BJP leader also said that the two biggest “USP” of the Nitish Government, law and order situation and development have been affected badly in the last five months.
“There has been no review or monitoring of departments, no meetings of officials to streamline the work as the Chief Minister is overburdened with altogether 18 departments”, Modi said while adding that regular meetings and monitoring is needed to make the Government function. “It’s been our personal experience,” he said.
The senior State BJP leader further charged that now during last five-month tenure of the present regime even the business has been affected badly in the State. “The businessmen don’t know whom to contact…and, there has been sense of insecurity prevailed all around in the State,” he charged. The BJP leader also said that due to bomb blasts in Bodh Gaya the inflow of tourists have declined and “even during Chhath Puja festival the number of devotees visiting Ganga ghat had slipped because of fear of mismanagement which had claimed 18 lives last year”.
Sushil Modi also took a dig at Kumar’s claim for development while inviting investors in the State. “Recently the Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) had declared that it has no surplus land to offer for the investors then how could the investors come to the State and make developmentIJ” asked Modi.
“The Bihar Chief Minister is making fool to the people of the State saying after special status to the State Bihar will develop rapidly. How it will be possible when there is no land to provide for the investors and industrialistsIJ” Modi sought to know.
Meanwhile, the ruling Janata Dal (U) has termed the report card released by BJP as “bundle of lies” and Sushil Modi as a patient suffering from a disease known as “chhapas” (publicity).
“What they have claimed in their report card is nothing but bundle of lies and as we’ll know Sushil Modi suffers from the disease chhapas he just do such sorts of things to be in the news all the time,” charged JD(U) leader Shyam Rajak.