Nitish Kumar countered Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for Parivartan (change) on Friday by asking if it means undoing the transformation the chief minister has brought about.
While Modi attacked Nitish at a Parivartan (change) rally in Banka, the chief minister went after the number of such rallies the Prime Minister has held in the state.
Addressing a rally in the sweltering in Mahadeva village, about 14km from the Munger district headquarters, Nitish asked: "Do the Prime Minister's Parivartan rallies mean they will demolish all 5,000 ' puls and puliyas (bridges and culverts)' built during my tenure with dynamites." It drew cheers from the youth.
"Does Parivartan mean sending all 8 lakh schoolgoing girls of Class IX to their homes and confining them there? They had all started going to school after the government provided them cycles. Will the BJP deny the state government's bicycle scheme to lakhs of schoolgoing girls in future," he asked.
Nitish further said: "When my government came to power 10 years ago, just 1,70,000 girls were studying in Class IX. Ever since the government launched the bicycles and dress scheme for schoolgirls, the number has been rising steadily and touched 8,15,000 this year. It is a social change Bihar has seen my 10-year tenure."
Attacking Nitish in Banka, Modi said the chief minister was "too arrogant" to be trusted with governance and asked people to back the BJP's development agenda. Earlier in Munger, Nitish had attacked Modi, saying the Prime Minister would soon lead the BJP in panchayat polls too.
Nitish promised to help unemployed youth learn English and pick up knowledge of computers so that they can find jobs anywhere in the world. But some in the audience looked doubtful. Mithilesh Kumar, an English honours graduate from Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, asked: "How will the Bihar government empower the youth to write and talk in English when it has made English an optional subject till matriculation? It is too late for Bihari youth to recognise the importance of English. But, I welcome his promise to ensure the youth's development." Nitish also promised to set up medical, engineering and polytechnic colleges, nursing institutions, ITIs and other technical institutions in sufficient numbers in every district so that students get the best technical degrees and find good jobs anywhere.
Pramod Kumar (44), a medicine shop owner in Mahadeva village, said: "Power supply has improved in and around Bariarpur block market in the past year. But the drinking water crisis continues, with no hope of improvement." He also regretted that the government has not rebuilt the Bariarpur underground passage in the past 10 years. The fate of the Ghorghat bridge, too, remains unchanged.
Both entry points to Bariarpur and Munger headquarters have been closed to heavy vehicles for at least 10 years now. It has resulted in shortage of essential commodities and price rise in both markets.
JDU MP Ram Nath Thakur, RJD candidate Bijoy Kumar Bijoy, RJD district president Ziaur Rehman, Congress district president Pramod K. Yadav and Congress district president Saurabh Nidhi were present at Nitish's rally.
