NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant’s reported remark blaming eastern states like Bihar and UP for India’s backwardness drew strong protests…
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant (Photo: IANS)
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant’s reported remark blaming eastern states like Bihar and UP for India’s backwardness drew strong protests from leaders across various political parties on Tuesday. Both ruling coalition and the Opposition joined together to launch concerted attacks on Kant.
“Bihar and Biharis pay equal taxes, contribute equally or more in governance and nation building. Bihar gave 33 MPs to NDA, seven Union ministers are from Bihar, both state and Central governments are of the same party and alliance but still these babus say Bihar is backward,” RJD leader and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav tweeted on Tuesday, adding the BJP had been ruling the state for 10 years.
Tejashwi, the son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, used NITI chief’s statements to mock the so-called development model of chief minister Nitish Kumar who is has been in power for the past 13 years. “If the remark is any indication, the so-called development model of Nitish Kumar is a hoax and forged,” he said.
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He also hit out at the NITI Aayog chief for lacking “basic knowledge” about Bihar. “Parachute babus don’t have any basic knowledge of Bihar. what 33 MPs of NDA, seven Union ministers and the Centre have been doing for it?
Nitish Kumar and BJP are 18-year-old ally and ruling Bihar for the past 13 years,” he ridiculed. Tejashwi also asked the chief minister to come forward and clear the mist over the “Bihar model of development” and prove that NITI Aayog is telling lies.
The JD-U headed by chief minister Kumar too reacted bitterly to Kant’s remark and said historical reasons, and not Bihar, are responsible for country’s backwardness.
Stating that uniform development of all regions could only ensure integrated growth, JD-U leader Niraj Kumar said Bihar has reported higher growth rate than the national average in the manufacturing sector for the past 12 years despite being put in the list of backward states.
Senior BJP leader and Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey too slammed the NITI Aayog chief for his remarks.
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