WB report shows mirror to Cong on its negative politics: BJP

BJP today latched onto a World Bank report on the ease of doing business, which has four party-ruled states among the top five, to hit out at Congress, saying while it is working to remove poverty the main opposition "wants to keep the poor trapped in poverty".
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar also referred to the poll-bound Bihar's 21 rank in the list, and said the BJP-led NDA would propel the state among the top slots in a few years if it is voted to power in the upcoming assembly elections.
"The report has shown a mirror to Congress about its negative and anti-development politics. While BJP is working to remove poverty and making programmes for the country's progress, Congress wants to keep the poor trapped in poverty because if they are empowered and developed they will no longer remain its vote bank," he told a press conference.

Noting that all top six ranks were occupied by BJP-ruled states, besides Andhra Pradesh, where its ally TDP in power, he said Congress should respond to it and apologise for its politics.
"The whole politics of Congress is based on keeping the poor poor. It did so when it was in power and it remains so now in opposition," Javadekar said, in a reference to the party's opposition to the land and GST bills brought by the Modi government, resulting in their being stalled in Parliament.
He, though, insisted that GST bill will be passed in Parliament and rolled out across the country.

The Environment Minister also took up the issue of Kutku dam's incompletion, work on which had started in 1970s, and blamed successive Congress governments at the Centre and lack of interest shown by the Nitish Kumar dispensation in Bihar for this.
The dam is meant to help irrigate 1.25 lakh hectres of land, mostly in Bihar, but it could not be completed due to objections raised by the Environment Ministry, he said.
Javadekar said he was now dealing with the matter and work on it would start soon. "I went to the sight and met villagers in Bihar. Injustice has been done to them. I will sort it out," he said.