86% of PM Modi’s Rs 1.25 lakh cr package old projects: Nitish Kumar

“The day it was announced, I knew it was merely packaging. We looked into the details and found there was nothing special about the package,” he said.

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Nitish elaborated that projects of Rs 1,08,667 crore had been previously approved. “It included already sanctioned funds of Rs 47,553 crore for national highways, Rs 21,127 crore for petroleum and natural gas, Rs 13,820 crore for rural development, Rs 16,130 crore for the power sector, Rs 8,446 crore for railways, Rs 300 crore for skill development, Rs 400 crore for agriculture, Rs 600 crore for tourism, Rs 240 crore for health and Rs 50 crore for skill development”.

He provided a “break-up of the additional budgetary allocation”. “While the Centre sanctioned an increment of Rs 7,160 crore in the national highways sector, Rs 1250 crore more was sanctioned for skill development, Rs 950 crore for education, Rs 423 crore for railways, Rs 224 crore for petroleum and natural gas and Rs 360 crore for health,” he said, but did not comment on why the previous UPA government had not cleared these funds.

The CM also took to the social media to “divulge the truth” about the package. He tweeted: “The much hyped package is nothing but an audacious and brazen effort to narrate a fairy tale to the people of Bihar.”

He termed the PM’s package an “outrageous act of auctioning the trust of the people of Bihar”.

Gadkari challenges CM Nitish Kumar for A TV debate

Union minister Nitin Gadkari challenged Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for a debate after the latter termed PM’s package for the state as “re-packaging” of old schemes on the eve of elections. “I challenge him (Nitish Kumar) for a televised debate for every project under the special package,” said Gadkari, who described the package as “historic”. ENS