BJP leader and Union Finance Minister declared on Saturday that his party would leave no stone unturned to win the Bihar poll and accused the Nitish Kumar government of not acting against hoarders to bring down the prices of pulses in the State.
Claiming that the BJP’s poll campaign was going well, Mr. Jaitley said in Patna: “The BJP will get a clear majority”. He also called the Nitish Kumar-Lalu Prasad alliance as “politics of opportunism”. Hitting out at the grand alliance between the JD(U)-RJD and the Congress, Mr Jaitley said, “race cannot be won on three legs”.
“The Nitish Kumar government has no developmental model and Bihar has gone from bad to worse in the past 25 years of the Nitish-Lalu regime”, he said while addressing media persons at he State party headquarters. “The biggest weakness of the current government of the JD(U) is that they did not have any stability in the administration and politics”.
Asked about the rising pulse prices, Mr Jaitley accused the Nitish Kumar government of not acting against hoarders. “It’s true that production of pulses has come down this year but in the last three days, about 50,000 tonnes of pulse have been unearthed from hoarders in 12 States.., why doesn’t the Nitish Kumar government act against hoarders like other States?” Mr. Jaitley asked.
“Besides, we’re importing pulseS from other countries to bring down the prices in the country…there has been a lower production of five million tonnes this year,” he said.
Agriculture and human resource were the biggest assets of Bihar, Mr Jaitley. After coming to power, the BJP would provide opportunities for growth and development in the State. “We’re contesting this poll on the issue of aspiration, hope and opportunity…also, against the prevailing scary atmosphere”.
Asked about the perception in the media that there has been a close contest between the BJP-led NDA and the grand alliance in the election rounds that are already over, Mr Jaitley said, “Poll cannot be won through friendly media stories…people do not decide their vote on the basis of television discussions or stories.”
Refraining from making any personal comment on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Mr Jaitley, said, “His (Mr Kumar’s) politics has become bad”. He also refused to make any comment on BJP leader and Cabinet colleague V.K. Singh’s “dog” remark. Mr Jaitley said: “He has already clarified and that topic is over.”
