New Delhi/Patra: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for his role in transforming the state, pulling it out of what he called “jungle raj”.
Speaking at a function in Darbhanga after laying the foundation stone for an AIIMS and inaugurating projects worth more than Rs.12,000 crores, Mr Modi made a veiled attack on the Congress-RJD combine, without mentioning it by name.
The Prime Minister referred to Mr Nitish Kumar, whose JD(U) played a crucial role in enabling the NDA’s return to power at the Centre earlier this year, as “lokpriya mukhyamantri” (popular chief minister).
Mr Modi said: “Nitish Babu has set up a model of sushasan (good governance). No praise is too high for him (jitni saraahna ki jaae kam hai) for his contribution in pulling Bihar out of the era of jungle raj. Now, under the NDA's double engine government, the state is making rapid, all-round progress.”
He also attacked earlier governments in the state, ruled by the Congress-RJD combine for 15 years before the NDA assumed power in 2005, for hoodwinking the people with “false (jhoothe) promises”.
Earlier, Mr Kumar thanked the PM for AIIMS, Darbhanga, even as he recalled having first made a request for the super specialty hospital in the north Bihar town with late BJP leader Arun Jaitley.
The Prime Minister began his speech with a reference to the Assembly polls underway in Jharkhand, which was carved out of Bihar two-and-a-half decades ago, and hoped that people in the tribal state would come out to vote in large numbers.
He asserted that his government worked with a “holistic approach” towards healthcare that was distinct from the previous Congress governments which were marked by "only one functional AIIMS in Delhi, with no treatment facilities available in the barely four and five other such facilities elsewhere in the country”.
”Today, we have more than two dozen AIIMS across the country. Healthcare is being made available to people of weaker sections through 1.5 lakh ‘Aaryogya mandirs’. Besides, more than four crore people have benefited from the Ayushman Bharat scheme,” the Prime Minister said.
He also highlighted his government’s efforts to increase the number of doctors by allowing pursuit of courses in medicine in Hindi and other vernacular languages, besides “adding 75,000 new seats” in medical colleges across the country.
The PM also touched upon the problem of floods that ravage the Kosi-Mithila region every year, saying his government was making “honest” (imaandaar) efforts to solve the problem by holding necessary discussions with Nepal, besides drawing a detailed plan involving Rs.11,000 crores to tackle the calamity.
Known for his penchant for connecting with the people by peppering his speeches with local flavour, the PM referred to the inclusion of Maithili, spoken in large parts of north Bihar, in the Eighth Schedules of the Constitution.
The PM also paid tributes to folk singer Sharda Sinha, who hailed from Supaul district in Mithila, and died last week.
