Purnia backs MP over call for development

BJP parliamentarian Uday Singh launched an unprecedented attack on the corruption spiral in the state on Sunday, saying that despite being a member of the NDA-II government, he and his Purnia constituents had been choked and kept out of the promise of inclusive governance.

BJP parliamentarian Uday Singh launched an unprecedented attack on the corruption spiral in the state on Sunday, saying that despite being a member of the NDA-II government, he and his Purnia constituents had been choked and kept out of the promise of inclusive governance.

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Addressing an as unprecedented large gathering for a rally by a constituency MP that has already come as a shock to the JD(U) and even his own party,
the BJP, Singh reeled off statistics to demonstrate how lack of monitoring and controls on the bureaucracy had ‘robbed people of their rights to 'development’.

The Vedna Pradarshan rally, as the gathering was christened, centred around governance deficit in state and central schemes with Singh saying, “I have been pained by the goings-on.”

"I had seen Bihar change and rapidly in the NDA’s first phase. The second phase has been a disaster,” he added. The huge gathering, he said, showed that the government claims were sounding hollow and that his agenda had struck a chord with the general mass.

“Chief minister Nitish Kumar has worked wonders, but he is surrounded by flatterers. Without breaking the shackles and distancing himself from such courtiers, he cannot come face to face with reality,” Singh added.

“We are fed up with the assurances and tall talks of the leaders and government. Bihar has not changed,” he said.

What went wrong, after all, that the wheel of progress suddenly stopped moving forward in NDA-II, he wondered. He said that when the voices of the people and their representatives ‘go unheard, only disaster follows’.

Raising questions of corruption and ‘unbridled bureaucracy’, the MP declared, “These two cancers could destroy the state unless they are reined in. Grassroots development would always remain a concern with the corrupt handling the reins of power in districts at all levels.”

He also berated the state for its ‘total failure in reining in corruption’ in the state, adding, “All the welfare schemes have failed on the ground.”

Singh also took a dig at the cycle and dress schemes for the students, saying “Without quality teachers in schools the real purpose gets defeated.”

“The government is funding cycle and dress schemes with the amount collected from tax on liquor shops opened in every village. That puts a question
mark on the very intention of Nitish Kumar,” he added.

Without taking the names of two JD-U leaders in the district, the MP said, “These two take commissions on every tender and the people have been forced to suffer them.”

He cautioned, “The slogan of Bihar shining gets defeated in the villages that are still miles away from development.”

On being asked about the absence of BJP MLAs from the dais, Dev said “It is not a party programme but under the aegis of Purnia Lok Sabha Vikas Parishad (PLSVP)”.

On the other hand, JD-U leaders looked perturbed over the huge crowd assembled for the Vedana Pradarshan rally. “It is a political stunt,” said
a senior JD(U) leader, blaming the MP for failing to fulfil his promises.

“We will give an apt reply soon,” he said.