Sonia attacks Nitish Kumar for alliance with BJP

With the election heat in Bihar touching a new high every day, the real war of words is happening between the Congress and the ruling Janata Dal (United), or JD(U). After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, it was the turn of Congress President Sonia Gandhi to launch a verbal attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Sonia Gandhi today attacked Kumar over his development claims and for presenting a secular image while having an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which she said is “dead opposed to secularism”.

She said: “The Centre has provided crores of rupees to the state under various centrally-sponsored schemes, but it is unfortunate that there are reports of corruption. We provided thousands of crore to the Bihar government, where is that money? Why this government did not spend any money on the uplift of the poor? What did he (the chief minister) do for women, farmers and youth? This is the question that you have to ask them,” the Congress president said while addressing election rallies in Motihari and Kishanganj.

She also questioned why no new industry was coming up in the state. “Students have to go outside the state for better education, opportunity and also for ensuring treatment of diseases,” she said. Gandhi also wanted to know what happened to the funds earmarked for education and health care.

Criticising the Nitish Kumar government for projecting a secular image, Gandhi said: “It just reflected the politics of opportunism and double face. A peculiar type of alliance government is running in Bihar. While its leader claims to have a secular image, he has alliance with the BJP which is dead opposed to secularism.”

Gandhi also slammed the state government for not giving land for setting up a centre of the Aligarh Muslim University in Kishanganj despite clearances by the Centre.