Bihar's development vote worries Maya

Mayawati has not only directed her MLAs and ministers to establish direct contact with the popple and apprise them about the development projects and schemes undertaken by the government, she has also reportedly decided to use the state intelligence services to keep a tab on such projects and report any irregularities to senior officials.

Asking the BSP legislators and leaders to spend more time in the villages and try to redress the grievances of the common people, the BSP supremo said that they should also ensure speedy and honest implementation of the welfare schemes.

Mayawati, who had a series of interactions with her party leaders, ministers and legislators post Bihar results, directed them to “apprise the people regarding the welfare schemes of the state government and get in touch with the common people in their respective constituencies.”

Hurdles

She also asked them to convey to the masses that the Centre was meting out a step-motherly treatment to the state government and was creating hurdles in the way of development.

“Tell the people that despite several requests made by the state government  for the special package for the development of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand, the Centre has not given any significant assistance, so far,” Mayawati said at the meetings.

She also asked the party leaders to impress upon the people that she was in favour of trifurcation of the state . “I wrote several letters to the prime minister to create three new states of Poorvanchal, Pashchimanchal and Bundelkhand by dividing the state into three parts, but the Central government has not paid any attention towards it, so far,” she added.

She said the people should be made aware about these facts, so that they remain alert towards the false propaganda of opposition parties against the state government and the BSP.

The BSP supremo, whose party drew a blank in the Bihar polls (it had five MLAs in the outgoing Assembly), had, immediately after the results were announced, dismissed assertions that Nitish Kumar’s win was owing to the development works undertaken by him.

Instead, she said that Nitish Kumar won mainly because of peoples’ anger against the 15-year misrule of Laloo Prasad Yadav.

“Projecting Laloo Prasad as chief minister and Ram Vilas Paswan as deputy chief minister and fielding their family members in the polls went against them,” the BSP supremo had asserted.

“Media reports that people in Bihar had voted above caste lines and on the plank of development is not correct,” Mayawati said.

Mayawati, who is under fire from the opposition parties for alleged deteriorating law and order situation in the state, said that BSP was the only party in the country, which had got votes of all the castes in the 2007 UP Assembly polls.

She has asked his most trusted lieutenant and party’s ‘brahmin face’ S C Mishra to monitor the development and welfare schemes. Mishra would be holding regular review meetings with the concerned officials to take stock of the projects.

The state intelligence department has also been asked to keep a tab on the ongoing developmental projects and report any irregularity to the senior officials.