NEW DELHI: Following his remarks that NDA-ruled Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan were holding back India’s growth, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant, on Tuesday sought to extricate himself from the subsequent controversy by stressing that he had been referring to lack of progress on human development indicators.
Kant made the remarks during a lecture in Jamia Millia Islmaia University in the national capital. It is learnt that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) sought an explanation from Kant for his remarks, which have put the BJP in a spot since Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are heading for Assembly elections later this year. Kant is learnt to have explained to the PMO that he had tried giving a context to the NITI Aayog’s programme of ranking aspirational districts.
“The maximum numbers of aspirational districts are in these states. They are also the most populous states. We are focusing on health, education and nutrition indicators in these states,” Kant explained on Tuesday.
Incidentally, BJP leaders saw a parallel to Kant’s remarks in the erstwhile Planning Commission raising the issue of poor social and human development indicators of Gujarat despite the state doing better in economic development. “Kant is speaking the same language. He’s not aware of the progress registered on all fronts, including human development indicators, during the 15-year rule of the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Besides, Bihar has shown all-round development, particularly in agriculture, under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar since 2005,” said a senior BJP leader.