Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday accused the NDA government in Bihar of making "false promises" and neglecting the development of Bhagalpur and Seemachal regions, asserting that this time the people will respond by defeating the ruling alliance with the power of their votes.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh asked why has the "double-engine government" neglected Seemanchal and left this region in a state of disrepair.
"'Pradhan Mantri ka jhooth sabse mazboot'!! Today, the Prime Minister is coming to Bhagalpur and Seemanchal. On this occasion, we want to remind him of some of his past false promises and ask him a few direct questions," Ramesh said on X.
In 2015, the prime minister said he would build Vikramshila Central University in Bhagalpur on 500 acres with a cost of Rs. 500 crore but ten years later, not even a single brick has been laid, he said.
Did Vikramshila also vanish like the Rs. 1.25 lakh crore package, Ramesh asked.
"In 2014, the prime minister confidently declared about the Motihari Sugar Mill, 'Next time I visit, I will drink tea made with sugar from this mill.' Eleven years have passed. People are still waiting for tea. Why did the prime minister tell such a blatant lie to the people of Motihari?" he said in his post in Hindi on X.
In 2020, a promise of Rs. 1,264 crore was made for the Darbhanga AIIMS, Ramesh pointed out.
"To date, neither the building has been constructed nor the hospital has been operational. Meanwhile, the prime minister also claimed that the Darbhanga AIIMS would be operational in 2023. Will the Darbhanga AIIMS ever become a reality beyond the manifesto?" he said.
Ramesh claimed that poverty and misery are at their peak in Seemanchal.
"The NITI Aayog report states: 52% of the population of Araria, 50% of the population of Purnia, more than 45% of the population of Kishanganj-Katihar, still struggle with multidimensional poverty," he said.
Ramesh alleged that Seemanchal has been neglected during the twenty years of the BJP-JDU government, as a result of which nearly half the population here is in the grip of extreme poverty.
"Why has the double-engine government neglected Seemanchal and left this region in such a state of disrepair?" he said.
Ramesh further pointed out that the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI) report also reveals the reality of Seemanchal.
"In Araria, Purnia, Kishanganj, and Katihar: 73% of households do not have a tap or hand pump; 33% of households defecate in the open; 65% of households use wood-fired stoves - a risk of lung disease.; 84% of households have less than three basic items (such as a TV, fan, bicycle, etc.) in their homes. This means extreme poverty. Most households depend on agriculture, but more than 40% are landless," the Congress leader said.
Why was this entire region kept away from development under the "trouble engine government" and why was it deliberately left in backwardness, Ramesh asked.
Overall, there is no education, no healthcare, no employment in Seemanchal, he claimed.
"There is only poverty and migration. The prime minister's development is not visible here even remotely," Ramesh said.
This time the people of Seemanchal and Bhagalpur will respond to this neglect by defeating NDA with the power of their votes, he asserted.
The Bihar polls are being held in two phases on November 6 and 11, and results will be announced on November 14.
The opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc, which has the RJD, the Congress and the Left parties as the main constituents, has declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav its chief ministerial candidate.