Prime Minister Narendra Modi is paying special attention to Bihar. His government is launching a programme which will give special emphasis on transformative projects in Bihar, reflecting the state’s rich legacy and youthful demography. The launch of Bihar’s revamped Mukhyamantri Nishchay Swayam Sahayata Bhatta Yojana will provide nearly five lakh graduate youths a monthly allowance of Rs.1,000 for two years, along with free skill training.
Poll-bound Bihar is currently the focus of the entire country. The battle for power in the state has intensified with Congress coming out with a “charge-sheet” against the ruling NDA and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav trying to lure voters with fresh promises. Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party is also in the fray and ready to make an impact. Stakes are high for all the parties with NDA relying more on the charisma and popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi than the work of its chief minister Nitish Kumar whose image has taken a hit following his multiple political flip-flops.
Jan Suraaj party chief and well-known poll strategist Prashant Kishor had said that if he contested, his seat would be either his birthplace of Kargahar, from where the party has given ticket to Bhojpuri singer Ritesh Pandey, or Raghopur, the pocket borough of Tejashwi Yadav.
Yadav, who at the age of 35 aims at a hat-trick from the seat, in the past represented by his father and mother Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi, announced at a press conference that if the INDIA bloc, which his party helms in Bihar, came to power, “we will bring an Act, within 20 days, to ensure that within 20 months every household has a member with a government job”.
Yadav pointed out that during his brief stint as the deputy chief minister, he was able to go half way through on the promise of 10 lakh jobs made in 2020, slamming his ex-boss Nitish Kumar for failure to deliver on employment generation.
The announcement was hailed by ally Congress. Congress legislative party leader Shakil Ahmed Khan said, “It does not need to be seen as a promise made only by the RJD. Job creation is a crying need for Bihar and Tejashwi Yadav has shown sensitivity towards it”. However, Neeraj Kumar, MLC and spokesperson of the JD(U), headed by the chief minister, termed the promise as “anti-constitutional”.
“Tejashwi Yadav would have done well to go through the report of the caste survey according to which there are 2.76 crore families in Bihar. During Nitish Kumar’s rule alone, 50 lakh people have got jobs. These recruitments took place on merit and there is no provision in the constitution under which an Act, as promised by Tejashwi, can be brought,” said the JD(U) leader.
Top leaders of the Congress like Jairam Ramesh, Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Singh Baghel and Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary flew down to the state capital to release a 42-page-long “charge-sheet” accusing the NDA of having brought “destruction” to Bihar and to lend support to Congress campaign.
Evocatively titled “bees saal vinaash kaal”, the document alleged that in the 20 years of its rule in the state, “through remote controls in Delhi and Nagpur”, the BJP-led coalition had pushed the state backwards in terms of development markers but made it a top ranker in crime and corruption.
That Prime Minister Narendra Modi is paying special attention to Bihar is evident from the fact his government is launching a programme which will give special emphasis on transformative projects in Bihar, reflecting the state’s rich legacy and youthful demography. The launch of Bihar’s revamped Mukhyamantri Nishchay Swayam Sahayata Bhatta Yojana will provide nearly five lakh graduate youths a monthly allowance of Rs.1,000 for two years, along with free skill training.
The redesigned Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme will provide completely interest-free education loans of up to Rs.4 lakh, significantly easing the financial burden of higher education. More than 3.92 lakh students have already availed loans worth more than Rs.7,880 crore under the scheme. Further strengthening youth empowerment in the state, Bihar Yuva Ayog, a statutory commission for people between the ages of 18 and 45 is being inaugurated by the Prime Minister to channelize and harness the energies of the state’s young population.
