Shahnawaz Hussain says Congress is sinking boat, welcomes rebels into BJP fold

Shahnawaz Hussain said that Kaimur, known for paddy, wheat and vegetable production, had great potential for setting up agro-based industries and the state government was planning to make the district a hub of rice milling, food processing and ethanol industries

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Bihar industry minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said that the Congress party was like a sinking boat while referring to Congress leaders such as Munna Khan joining the BJP in his presence on Monday at Bhabua in Kaimur district.

Senior BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain lambasted the Congress party for its alleged misdeeds. (HT Photo/File/Representative use)

Hussain, who is also a member of saffron party’s central election committee, said no one should remain in a “sinking boat”, rejected by the people of the country for its alleged misdeeds, anti-people policies and corruption.

Hussain asked BJP workers to welcome committed leaders into the party fold to strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in making a mighty and prosperous India.

Hussain promised that all the closed industrial units will be revived besides opening of new industries in the state. He added that Kaimur, known for paddy, wheat and vegetable production, had a great potential for agro-based industries and the state government was planning to make the district a hub of rice milling, food processing and ethanol industries.

Government’s initiative was likely to create jobs and also encourage entrepreneurship, he said.

Earlier in the day, Hussain met with the district administration to review the progress in implementation of industrial schemes, especially those meant for scheduled caste, scheduled tribes, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and minorities.

Responding to Hussain’s claim, All India Congress Committee (AICC) media panelist and member of Bihar legislative assembly Prem Chandra Mishra said that no prominent Congress leader had joined the BJP recently and the BJP leaders were worried about their own future. “The BJP leaders feared about their own future because of the party’s fast deteriorating popularity owing to rising costs and unemployment in the country. Their support base was badly sinking all over India and people were seeing Congress as the only alternative,” Mishra said, adding that Hussain should instead “focus on the worsening industrial scenario in Bihar during the NDA’s 15-year rule".

Political analyst Dr Haridwar Pandey said that though people’s confidence in the Congress was low due to internecine bickering, lack of leadership and innovative solutions, it was still the only alternative to the BJP once it came out of the present situation.