Bihar’s politics is growing hotter by a shrill verbal wrestling between the Nitish Kumar-led government’s self-laudatory “report card” for its sixth consecutive year in power and the Opposition parties’ excoriating “charg-esheet” that has disputed the NDA government’s claims of successes.
After the JD(U)-BJP alliance government, in keeping with a practice it began in 2006, presented a detailed report of its performances in the form of a sleekly printed 84-page booklet titled “Development with Justice: Report Card 2011” on Friday, the state’s Opposition parties became vociferous in contesting its contents. The main Opposition party RJD brought out its own report on the government’s performance, calling it “Janata Ka Aarop Patra (People’s Chargesheet)” the next day, rubbishing the government’s claims. This booklet’s front and back covers had pictures of recent police atrocities in Bihar.
The RJD’s renewed tirade was joined in with equal determination by other Opposition parties like the LJP, Congress, CPI(ML) and the NCP, which all described the government’s claims of rapid socio-economic progress in all fields as complete lies.
In press conferences and television debates that are continuing, the Opposition leaders are enumerating the government’s failures and forcing several NDA leaders participating in those debates to fumble for a precise defence.