Cong trashes Nitish's report card but to continue support

Bihar Congress today trashed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's report card eulogising his government's performance on completion of eight years, saying it has been a "total failure" but promised to continue outside support to it to keep "communal forces" at bay.

"The Nitish Kumar government has been a total failure on all fronts, but we will continue to extend support to his government to keep communal forces at bay," the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) President Ashok Chaudhary told reporters after releasing his party's counter report card.

The stark reality of development of Bihar or rather lack of it can be summed up by the fact that it continues to lie on the bottom of the pile of all states in terms of human development index, be it per capita income or education or health, he said, even as he asserted that, "the Congress's commitment is to securalism and not to Kumar in Bihar."

The socio-economic condition of Mahadalits and minorities remains abysmal as the state government has failed to provide three decimal land to landless people for houses even as it has spent only 25 per cent of the funds for development and welfare projects for the Muslims under the Multi-Sectoral Development (MSD) scheme, Chaudhary said.

The BPCC President further tore into the JD(U) government's plank of 'development with justice' saying that the state government was yet to to take action in incidents like the Bagaha police firing in which six tribals were killed, death of 23 children in midday meal tragedy in Chapra, killing of four muslims in Forbesganj police firing and another related incident of firing in Sasaram on dalits during hoisting of national tricolour over the last two years.

Having pilloried the minority JD(U) government's achievements, Chaudhary kept alive its hope to complete the remainder period of its term without glitches saying that Congress with four MLAs will continue to extend support to it to keep the communal forces like the BJP at bay.

"Our support to the JD(U) government is strategic one to keept the communal forces at bay," the BPCC president said and vowed to not allow the 'communal' BJP to entrench itself in Bihar.

Chaudhary said that the BJP, which had shared power for seven and a half years before the JD(U) snapped ties with it last June, was equally culpable for lack of good governance and development in Bihar.