In an obvious move to counter the Rs 1.25 lakh crore package PM Narendra Modi recently announced for Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday launched projects worth Rs 19,500 crore with special focus on taking electricity to all Bihar villages by 2016. The CM also laid foundation for a six-lane bridge over Ganga at Patna. Without naming PM Narendra Modi, the Bihar CM said that the Centre’s Rs 1.25 lakh crore package, which Modi recently announced at a rally, was a matter of “packaging”. He also attacked the Centre for not honouring the spirit of “cooperative federalism” and keeping the state government out of the loop with regard to projects in the state. [related-post] Taking a dig at the PM, Nitish said that he was a “theth Bihari” and would not mind being called a “yachak (supplicant)” for the sake of the state’s development. “You get to know about a package only after you unwrap it. One has only seen the headline so far. It looks more packaging to me. But what I promise, I fulfil. I had said contract workers and midday meal cooks will get 25 per cent raise in state government allowance and Rs 4 lakh compensation in the event of death. We have implemented it”. In a bid to rebut Modi’s jibes on “poor electricity supply” in Bihar in his recent rallies, Nitish said: “My goal is to take electricity to every settlement of 250 households. We will achieve the target by 2016. But there are people who still keep speaking. Over a dozen Central ministers have been in Bihar issuing statements. Let them speak. I will also keep speaking up for Bihar. I am a theth (pure) Bihari.” The CM said special category status would be the only solution to Bihar’s problems and a foolproof way to attract big ticket investments. “In any case, we have good investment in food processing sectors. We have now set a target to provide and maintain roads in such a manner that one can reach Patna in five hours from even far-off places such as Kishanganj,” he said. Nitish also targeted the Centre for not adhering to the spirit of cooperative federalism. “I presented my list of demands before the PM, but I have not heard anything about it. I have not been kept in the loop about the state’s projects. If this is the approach, cooperative federalism is also a jumla (slogan). The Centre has also changed the name of some projects. While Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme has 90:10 Centre-state share, Deen Dayal Upadhyay scheme has 60:40 Centre-state share,” he said.
