Congress leader Jairam Ramesh Thursday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s track record in Bihar’s Seemanchal region and the broader northeastern belt, accusing the BJP-led government of neglecting development and breaking key promises. Taking to platform X, Ramesh alleged several unfulfilled pledges and grave socio-economic challenges faced by the people of Seemanchal and Bhagalpur ahead of the upcoming elections.
Addressing Modi’s impending visit to Bhagalpur and Seemanchal, Ramesh said, “The Prime Minister’s lies are the strongest! We remind him of his past promises and ask—where is the Vikramshila Central University he pledged in 2015 with Rs 500 crore? Ten years later, not a single brick has been laid. Did the Rs 1.25 lakh crore package vanish into thin air?”
Ramesh recalled Modi’s 2014 promise about the Motihari Sugar Mill: “He said he would drink tea made from sugar produced there. Eleven years on, people are still waiting.” He also questioned the status of the Darbhanga AIIMS project, funded with Rs 1,264 crore in 2020 but yet to become operational despite the Prime Minister’s 2023 claim of its inauguration.
Highlighting the condition of Seemanchal, Ramesh cited the NITI Aayog’s report revealing that over 50 per cent of population in Araria, Purnia, Kishanganj, and Katihar grapple with multidimensional poverty. “In 20 years of BJP-JD(U) rule, Seemanchal has been left behind, with millions trapped in poverty, lacking education, health facilities, or employment. Why has this region been deliberately neglected?” he asked.
Further quoting the Asian Development Research Institute, he painted a stark picture: “73 per cent of households lack access to tap water or hand pumps; 33 per cent defecate in the open; 65 per cent depend on wood-fired stoves, risking lung diseases; and 84 per cent own fewer than three basic household items. This is the reality of backwardness.”
Ramesh warned, “This time, the people of Seemanchal and Bhagalpur will respond to this neglect by defeating the NDA with the sting of their votes.”
In a related critique of India’s foreign policy posture, Ramesh drew attention to US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims—now made 58 times globally—that he pressured India to halt Operation Sindoor, a military campaign. “From Washington DC to Riyadh, Doha, London, The Hague, Sharm el-Sheikh, and Tokyo, and even on Air Force One, Trump has boasted about stopping Operation Sindoor,” Ramesh noted, questioning India’s diplomatic transparency.
Ramesh’s remarks underscore mounting political challenges for the BJP ahead of pivotal elections, spotlighting both domestic governance issues and complex international dynamics. As the political battle intensifies, voters and observers alike await how these controversies will shape India’s electoral and diplomatic future.