BJP's governance in Bihar left much to be desired: Congress

The Congress on Sunday, 7 April urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to answer on key issues his government should have focused on in Bihar, saying while the BJP has "excelled" at forcing its way into power, its governance has left much to be desired.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions to the prime minister on Bihar ahead of his rally in Nawada.

"Today, the Prime Minister heads to Nawada in Bihar - the state where the BJP orchestrated its latest government collapse. While they have excelled at forcing their way into power, the BJP's governance has left much to be desired," Ramesh said.

He hoped the PM can answer three questions about the issues his government should have focused on.

When the PM visited Nawada before the 2014 election, he raised the issue of the Warisaliganj Sugar Mill, asking why it had remained defunct for so many years, Ramesh noted.

"This raised the hopes of thousands of locals, as in its heyday, the mill directly employed 1,200 workers and additionally supported hundreds of sugarcane farmers. Both BJP MPs from Nawada, Giriraj Singh (2014) and Chandan Singh (2019) also promised to start sugar mills during their tenure. Ten years later, all those promises have turned up empty," he said.

When the PM visits Nawada this time, he must answer the people as to why has the Warisaliganj Sugar Mill remained defunct for the last ten years, Ramesh asked.

"They might have renamed Race Course Road but the BJP continues to bet on horse-trading. Given the BJP's lack of respect for the democratic values enshrined in our Constitution, no government has been safe from their political manipulations," he alleged.

The Congress leader alleged that the BJP does not hesitate to topple governments or use their "ill-gotten Electoral Bonds chanda" to buy and sell MLAs in their desperate bids to cling to power, "as was evident when Nitish Kumar flip-flopped once again earlier this year".

"We now know that the Electoral Bonds Scam cost Indian citizens Rs. 4 lakh crore - the question is how much did the change in government in Bihar cost the people of India," he asked.

Ramesh claimed that the state of public education in Bihar has gone from bad to worse in recent years.

Thousands of teachers and retired college employees are up in arms because they have not been paid their dues, he claimed.

"Delays in teacher appointment have shrunk the number of active teachers to an abysmal 35% of the sanctioned number. Most recently, guest teachers in Patna took to the streets to protest their abrupt termination, and instead of listening to their concerns, the BJP government had them lathi-charged," he said.

"As KB Sinha, working president of the Federation of University Teachers' Association of Bihar (FUTAB) said, "The problems of the universities have been confounded due to the arbitrary actions of the department of education - Even for important festivals like Holi and Eid, salary and pension remain held up for three months and nobody seems bothered. Does the PM have anything to say for the sorry state of affairs in Bihar education?" Ramesh said.

What is the BJP government doing to secure the livelihoods of Bihar's teachers, he asked.

Ramesh urged Prime Minister Modi to break his silence on these issues.