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Nitish will win only because of Modi's work: Chirag

Last updated on: October 21, 2020 23:51 IST

Hitting campaign trail after end of rituals connected with his father Ram Vilas Paswan death, Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan on Wednesday again attacked Nitish Kumar saying he has no development record to show and could return to chief ministerial chair only by highlighting work done under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last six years.

IMAGE: Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan carrying the party's manifesto poses for a photograph with his mother Reena Paswan, in Patna, on Wednesday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Chirag unveiled vision document of his party "Bihar first Bihari first" promising setting up a youth commission, creating portal for providing employment and promoting dairy in Bihar on the pattern of Denmark.

Continuing with his tirade against Kumar, the LJP president charged the chief minister with having "anti-youth" thinking and promoting casteism and communalism on the basis of which "development can't be imagined."

"Since you have not done any commendable work in the past five years, you can return to the CM chair only by highlighting the developmental work of Prime Minister in the past six years," Chirag told reporters.

A day after photograph showing him touching feet of Kumar at the shradha function of his father on Tuesday which people thought ended differences between the two, Chirag who has pulled his LJP out of NDA in Bihar because of Kumar's "haughty" behaviour towards his father, returned to hard politics resuming his scathing attacks on the Janat Dal-United chief.

About touching Kumar's feet, Chirag has already said "its part of sanskaar (tradition) of touching feet of elders on such occasion."

 

Kumar, Chirag and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav were captured by cameras sitting together at Brahma-Bhoj function of the late Dalit leader in Patna the previous day.

The LJP has already released lists of a total of 136 candidates for all three phases of the Bihar polls, with many of its nominees crossing swords with the JD-U candidates.

In the process, the LJP has even fielded candidates against the Bharatiya Janata Party on nearly half-a-dozen constituencies that included Raghopur where saffron party's candidate Satish Kumar is taking on Tejashwi Yadav.

Releasing the vision document of his party, Chirag said in the past three decades there has been only talks of development in the state but "no real development has taken place."

"Governments have either been formed or fell only through smart social engineering of castes," the 37-year-old leader, who is faced with a daunting task to lead his party in the Bihar polls without his father and charismatic leader Ram Vilas Paswan, said.

"Sometimes I wonder seeing how you encourage casteism. No development can be imagined under a man who has been encouraging casteism and communalism," he said taking a swipe at Kumar.

"You divided Dalits by creating a sub-section of Mahadalits and divided backward castes by forming extremely backward castes," he said to drive home his point.

Criticising Kumar for not creating suffient jobs for the youths, the LJP president trashed his argument that industries were not coming to the state as it is land-locked.

"Even Punjab and Haryana are land-locked how they have progressed," he asked.

While no new industry came in the state those already existing have been closed, he said.

He also took a jibe at Kumar for ridiculing rivals claim of generating jobs if voted to power by dubbing it as thoughts of "inexperience" and reminded him that he himself has graduated in politics from students politics.

Kumar has been rificuling Tejashwi Yadav's announcement of providng 10 lakh jobs if voted to power.

He also trashed Kumar's claim of substantial improvement in the healthcare facilities in the state and said there is shortage of doctors in many hospitals besides there are very few women doctors.

The LJP president said that Kumar was propagating development in the state by claiming work done by the centre as his own.

"There was a time when you did not want to see Modi out of jealousy towards him and today you are winning applause from people by falsely claiming the works of the centre as your own," Chirag said.

The vision doocument talked about linking rivers to end the problem of flood and drought in the state.

He said that the vision document has been prepared on the basis of opinion of nearly four lakh people of Bihar which encompasses all existing problems of the state.

The document promised reserving some seats in private schools for economically deprived sections of the society and creating single window system to encourage setting up of new industries.

It also emphasised on encouraging religious tourism and a probe into "corruption prevalent in implementation of 'saat nischay' (seven resolves) under Kumar government to punish those found guilty of looting public money."

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