The Congress, prone to outrage against non-Congress governments in the event of mishaps, chose to be uncharacteristically muted in its reaction to the mid-day meal tragedy in Chapra, Bihar where 27 school children died of fertilizer poisoning.
Neither Chief Minister Nitish Kumar nor any of his ministers have visited the village yet. It has been five days since the tragic incident, but both UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi are still to visit the state. They had rushed to Chattisgarh after the recent Maoist attack and earlier to Odisha and UP protesting violation of tribal rights and police firing.
With the Congress praising Nitish as ‘secular’, the UPA Government seems to be busy doling out various schemes and aid exclusively for Bihar, before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
If Nitish is increasingly seen rubbing shoulders with Congress ministers like Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram, there is more to it than meets the eye. Of late, various Union ministries have been announcing scheme after scheme for Bihar, while other states with equally serious economic problems, such as Odisha and UP, have been left in the lurch.
Taking the lead in extending a helping hand to Bihar is the Ministry of Rural Development under Jairam Ramesh, which has announced special packages worth `4,130 crore for various projects in Bihar. It is the biggest financial package for rural development that the state has ever received.
Jairam was in Bihar early this month to announce the package. Jairam’s ministry is also working closely with the Rural Development Department in Bihar to ensure that the allotment of houses for the BPL population under the social welfare programme Indira Awas Yojna (IAY) is completed within this financial year itself.
“There is an improved co-ordination between Bihar and the ministry like never before. Whatever be the politics, it will be good for the state,” said an official with the ministry.
He said that Nitish met former Rural Development Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh with the same set of demands, but the matter was not taken forward. Today, Jairam is taking a personal interest in all Bihar related projects. The official also added that the minister has been making frequent trips to the state lately.
Other ministries that have showered largesse on Nitish are the Ministry of Power, headed by Veerappa Moily and the Ministry of Coal, captained by Sriprakash Jaiswal. The former allocated extra electricity from the central pool immediately after the Nitish-BJP break up. Earlier this month, the Coal Ministry gifted Bihar the much-awaited coal blocks for three upcoming thermal power projects in the state.
This is good news for Nitish, who had vowed that he would not ask for votes in the next Assembly elections if he failed to bring power to Bihar’s villages. Each of the three new thermal power projects has a capacity of 1,320 MW and will generate enough electricity to solve the power crisis in Bihar.
“One of the Bihar CM’s steady demands to the Centre whenever he visited Delhi has been more power for the state. It’s only now that the government has decided to open its eyes,” said an official who has been co-ordinating Nitish’s Delhi visits.
According to him, Nitish had even sought the intervention of the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia for the allocation of coal linkages for thermal power projects in Bihar earlier this year. But things have begun to move only now.
Another ministry that has gone out of its way to support Nitish Kumar is the Ministry of Finance. The Department of Economic Affairs has signed an agreement with the World Bank for credit of $ 84 million for the Bihar Panchayat Strengthening Project. The project will support the state government in promoting inclusive, responsive and accountable gram panchayats in six districts. This agreement was also signed after Nitish pulled out from the NDA alliance.
“The BJP-Nitish break-up is turning out to be a boon for Bihar regardless of the fate of the Congress-Nitish tie-up,” said the official. He added that it is only a matter of time before Congress also agrees to Nitish’s long pending demand for ‘backward status’ for Bihar.