Politics of ideology has future: Nitish

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday said the politics which disrupts the harmony of the social fabric will not survive for long.

Speaking at a programme in the city, Kumar slammed politicians who "use their opportunity to serve people for making illicit wealth" and said that his party is committed to maintaining communal harmony.

"The politics of ideology still has a future. The politics of love will survive. In Bihar, we have never compromised with corruption and worked honestly for the welfare of people from all classes. Our stand on communal harmony remains firm," he said.

Stressing that Janata Dal was born in Karnataka, he said Shantaveri Gopalagowda, S Venkatram, S Bangarappa and Kagodu Thimmappa have contributed immensely for the party's movement. "Value-based politics still has a place here," he said. Kumar remembered that former chief minister the late J H Patel, when he became
parliamentarian for the first time, took the oath in Kannada.

"The land reforms introduced by (former chief minister) Devaraj Urs and the introduction of reservation for women in Panchayat Raj during (former chief minister) Ramakrishna Hegde's regime became examples for the nation. The first Information Technology Centre was formed here during Patel's regime," he remembered.

Speaking about the reforms in Bihar, he said only 39 people used the primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in the state in 2006 due to the shortage of doctors. After a series of reforms and with provision of free medicine, a survey has showed that more than 1,500 people visit PHCs in a month, he added.

"At present, more than 10,000 people get the benefit of PHCs. This shows that good facilities will encourage public to trust government services," he said.