RJD mocks Nitish’s yatra, says “prosperity” missing in state

Patna: The RJD on Friday took a jibe at CM Nitish Kumar’s Samriddhi Yatra, claiming the tour’s promise of prosperity rang hollow as Bihar continued to lag on key social and economic indicators.Addressing a press conference at the party office in Patna, RJD spokesperson Chittranjan Gagan questioned the rationale behind the CM’s latest tour and said, “Which Bihar’s prosperity is the CM going out to see? Since prosperity means completeness and affluence with happiness in every field, and these lack in Bihar.

”Gagan said the CM had embarked on a so-called prosperity tour in a state where, he claimed, 34% of families were still living below the poverty line. He alleged Bihar continued to rank poorly across multiple parameters. “Bihar is at the lowest rung in NITI Aayog’s comprehensive development indicators. It is the third poorest state of the country, ranks 18th among 19 states in the health sector, literacy rate is only 61.3%, Bihar's share in the country's GDP is the lowest at only 4.3%, Bihar's share in industry is only 1.39%, Bihar is far behind the national average in maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate, and school dropout,” Gagan said.

Taking a further swipe, the RJD spokesperson said the chief minister was touring a state where 60% of doctor posts and 40% of nursing staff posts were vacant in hospitals, more than half the teacher posts were vacant in universities and colleges, over 3 lakh teacher posts were lying vacant from primary to higher secondary schools, thousands of schools were still without buildings, and more than 3 crore people had migrated to other states in search of livelihood.

He said projecting such a tour as a prosperity drive amounted to a “mockery of the word ‘prosperity’” and should not insult Bihar.However, JD(U) state spokesperson Anjum Ara rejected the allegations and accused the RJD of misleading the public. She said the CM interacted with common people during his yatras to understand the ground reality. “He has made several big decision only after taking the opinion of commoners.

People have faith in him and development work being carried out by Nitish Kumar Ji and the recent example is the mandate in assembly election,” Ara said.She added that the RJD should focus on introspection rather than levelling accusations. “Also, instead of just criticising the govt, RJD should try to carry out the duty of an opposition and appreciate the work we are doing and give suggestions,” she said.