CM defends himself over RSS connection

Ever since Nitish Kumar allowed the RSS to hold its three-day October 9-11 meeting at his home-turf Rajgir,he has been under constant...

Ever since Nitish Kumar allowed the RSS to hold its three-day October 9-11 meeting at his home-turf Rajgir,he has been under constant attack from the RJD and the LJP for going soft on nationalist groups because of its coalition with the BJP. Nitish Kumar sought to deflect the criticism by attacking the RSS for accusing the JDU of carrying out Muslim-appeasement policies. The Chief Minister and other JDU leaders clarified that the RSS had nothing to do with the state governments agenda. However,Lalu Prasad emphasised that the entire RSS show had been stage-managed and said Nitish was criticising the RSS while sitting in the lap of communal forces.

The Lalu-Nitish aloo-pyaaz spat

The Lalu Prasad-Nitish Kumar verbal duels are in full flow again. Whereas Lalu Prasad wants the state government to fix potato and onion prices at Rs 2 per kg for BPL people,Nitish Kumar countered if Lalu had ever given such facilities to the poor during RJDs prolonged rule. Kumar said the state government had been giving Rs 1,000 subsidy per hectare to potato and onion farmers and had also carried out maize and rice seed distribution among marginal farmers. Kumar added that with potato and onion prices hovering around Rs 20-Rs 26 per kg in the open market,it was not possible for any government to bear such financial losses.

Bridge over Kosi to show way for Govt

While the Bihar government may have failed in executing its grand rehabilitation plan for the flood-hit people in the Kosi region last year due to lack of financial assistance from the Centre,it has decided to build a bridge over Kosi near Saharsa. The state cabinet recently okayed a proposal to construct a two-km reinforced concrete bridge between Baluaha Ghat and Gandaul under Saharsa for Rs 531 crore. The move is taken as an attempt to keep the residents in the area in good humour. The bridge may also help Nitish silence archrivals Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan who keep targeting the government over flood-related accidents.

Nitish follows up jankari with shakti

Seven months after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar spent time with villagers during his Vikas Yatra to gauge the public pulse,he now wants district magistrates to leave behind the comfort of their bungalows and stay amidst the common people. The immediate provocation for the move is the flurry of corruption charges emanating from the panchayat level with most cases related to tardy implementation of the NREGS. The CM also announced the setting up of an NREGS call centre as a follow up to its successful RTI call centre jankari initiative. The call centre,known as Shakti,aims at doing away with middlemen in procuring jobs under the scheme since villagers can now dial a toll-free number to get information on the jobs available and directly interact with DMs during their visits to the hinterland.