PATNA: Hoisting the Tricolour for the 15th time on the occasion of Independence Day, Nitish Kumar on Sunday became the only chief minister of Bihar to have achieved the feat.
This was pointed out by Information and Public Relations Minister Sanjay Kumar Jha who came out with a flurry of celebratory tweets underscoring the fact that his leader has also completed "5,474 days" in power, surpassing the record of late Shri Krishna Sinha, the inaugural holder of the post.
Sinha first occupied the post in 1946, when it was created, and continued to hold it till his death in 1961.
Earlier, he had held the post of "premier" after the Congress won provincial elections conducted during the British Raj as per the Government of India Act, 1935.
Kumar's stint in power began in November 2015 and it has been unbroken save for a less than a year long break caused by his resignation in May 2014 when he was replaced by his trusted lieutenant Jitan Ram Manjhi.
During his eventful journey, the JD(U) de facto leader has held the top post heading two separate coalitions, the BJP-helmed NDA with which he has remained aligned for the most part of his political career, and the Grand Alliance comprising the RJD-Congress combine, his adversaries with whom he had a short-lived alliance.
In his tweets, Jha, who is also the national general secretary of the JD(U), reflected the mood in the party which has been trying to pick up the threads after a sub-par performance in the assembly polls last year.
He highlighted the "sushasan" (good governance) ushered in by Kumar, drawing a contrast with the preceding 15 years when the state was ruled by RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi.
"To be called a Bihari had become a matter of shame in those days", fumed Jha, who has played an instrumental role in keeping things smooth between the JD(U) and the BJP despite ideological differences.
"Nitish Kumar's leadership instilled confidence in the minds of people who have begun to think that Bihar can make progress and things can change for the better. Let us resolve to make the state a developed one by lending support to his 'nishchay' (resolve)," Jha wrote on the microblogging site.
Kumar on Sunday announced an 11 per cent hike of dearness allowance for state government employees and pensioners with effect from July 1.
Addressing a gathering after hoisting the Tricolour at the Gandhi Maidan here on the occasion of the 75th Independence Day, Kumar made the announcement of raising the DA from 17 per cent to 28 per cent.
"The finance department will soon issue a notification for the increase in dearness allowance for state government employees and pensioners," Kumar said after hoisting the Tricolour at the Gandhi Maidan here.
The chief minister also said the state government's incentive scheme for other backward classes (OBC) and economically backward classes (EBC) for examinations of Bihar Public Service Commission and Union Public Service Commission would now be extended to girls of all sections of the society.
Under this scheme, the government provides Rs 50,000 to a candidate who clears preliminary exams of BPSC and Rs one lakh to an aspirant who passes UPSC prelims.
Kumar claimed that the state has progressed in all sectors, including education, health, agriculture, tourism, industry and social justice.
Stressing on the need for an efficient and effective leadership to ensure the quality of education in the state, Kumar said the annual income slab of Rs 2.5 lakh for students' families belonging to SC,ST, OBC and EBC categories to avail the Centre's post-matric scholarship will be increased to Rs 3 lakh.
"There will be a principal teacher cadre for schools. Principal teachers will now be appointed through competitive examinations," he said.
Kumar announced that three colleges will be opened under the Bihar Agriculture University.
Emphasising on the agriculture and allied sectors, he said, "There would be storage facilities for fish, fruits and vegetables at Rs 2,700 crore."
All villages in the state would be covered under milk cooperative societies in the coming four years, and 40 per cent of these committees will have women as members.
Speaking on the current flood situation in the state, the CM said the government is making all efforts to help the affected people.
"Instructions have been given to the authorities concerned to make preparations for handling the situation. More than 34 lakh people have been affected by the deluge in 32 districts in the state. The government is providing aid to them," he added.