Amit Shah sounds poll bugle in Bihar
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday sounded the bugle for the Bihar Assembly poll that are due later this year, urging people to vote for the NDA. Shah also attacked RJD chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav for his alleged involvement in various scams.
Addressing a rally in Gopalganj, Shah accused Lalu of ignoring the development of Bihar and working only for the betterment of his family. “The NDA governments, both at the Centre and in Bihar, have been working for the overall development of Bihar. Meanwhile, Lalu Prasad was involved in the bitumen scam, flood relief material supply scam, ‘Charwaha Vidyalaya’ (school for cattle grazers) scam, and had even eaten up fodder meant for cattle. Those who had eaten up fodder cannot think about the welfare of people in the state,” said Shah.
The fodder scam, in which crores of rupees were fraudulently withdrawn from treasuries such as Doranda, Deoghar, Dumka and Chaibasa was exposed in the 1990s when Jharkhand was a part of Bihar. Lalu was convicted in the case.
The Home Minister further mentioned that between 1990 and 2005, the Opposition governments ran an industry of murder, kidnapping, extortion, robbery and looting in Bihar, which completely ruined the state. During the rule of the Opposition governments in Bihar, there were caste massacres, government-sponsored corruption and the state was defamed due to the fodder scam.
Earlier in Patna, Shah in the presence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various central and state government projects worth over Rs 800 crore.
Shah alleged that for decades, no government prioritised the cooperative sector. But with its abundant land, water and natural resources, Bihar stands to gain significantly from the cooperative sector in the coming years.
He pointed out that Bihar once contributed over 30 per cent of the country’s sugar production, but under the Opposition rule, this share dropped to less than 6 per cent. He further assured people that the Central Government was committed to reviving the state’s closed sugar mills.
Never again, says Nitish on break-ups with BJP
Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar assured the Home Minister that he would “never again” ditch the BJP, having done so “twice by mistake”.
Shah visits Nitish’s residence
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday visited the residence of key BJP ally and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar of the JDU to send a message of unity among partners ahead of the Bihar elections. Shah and Kumar are learnt to have discussed seat-sharing, with the BJP set to seek a wishlist from other partners, including the LJP and HAM.
(With PTI inputs)
