Bihar’s latest high economic growth figures cited by the Planning Commission brought cheers to the state’s Nitish Kumar-led NDA government on Thursday, but it sparked off a fresh war of words as the Opposition parties rubbished the figures and attacked the government.
With the government facing a difficult time days after its own annual progress report was trashed by all Opposition parties, the Planning Commission report pegging Bihar’s nominal growth rate between 2007 and 2012 at 21.9 per cent came as a morale booster. Anticipating blistering attacks from the Opposition in the Assembly’s Winter Session that began on Thursday, several ministers cited the growth figures and the “top performing state” tag it bestowed on Bihar to assert the National Democratic Alliance’s effective governance.
The main Opposition party RJD, whose legislators met at party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s residence to discuss ways to counter the government’s claims, said the latest figures had no authentic relation with Bihar’s ground realities. The Congress, LJP and the Left parties also criticised the NDA government for a “growing mismatch between statistics and realities”.
“If there has indeed been such a high growth rate, then you (Mr Kumar) must now go to sleep under a blanket. If the growth rate is 22 per cent, they (government) must now say who has been enjoying its fruits so far and how many people’s lives have seen improvement,” Mr Yadav said.
“These (growth rate) are only on paper and based on colourful data provided by the state government,” he said, describing Mr Kumar’s government as a “lion made of wax that will melt under the truth”.