A ridiculous debate on taking credit for the development––or denying it to others––is going on in Bihar. While the chief minister, Nitish Kumar, on November 25 made tall claims about his achievements in the
state in the last eight years––in particular in the last five months––the BJP reacted sharply by stating that Bihar developed only in the first seven and a half years when it too was a part of the ruling NDA and not in the last five months. In fact, according to the saffron party leaders, the state has gone back in the last five months.

Both these claims and counter-claims  are bogus and made to befool the people. In fact the whole concept of development floated by some part-time experts and TV anchors––who are always in hurry––is erroneous and flawed. These skewed analyses are part of the modern era of the paid journalism.

In 21st century India chief ministers have become more powerful than the prime minister of the country. This is in total contrast to the all-powerful prime minister during Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi eras.

So these regional satraps are getting some nonsensical things plantedin the television channels and newspapers in the name of development. So we will get news of 11 per cent or 14 per cent growth in Bihar or Gujarat but nobody would highlight that Gujarat had achieved 34 per cent, 25 per cent, 20 per cent etc growth in 1980s and 1990s when India’s growth rate was hardly five to six per cent. Ill-informed journalists, especially of various private channels, would see prime ministerial material in chief ministers who do not have any idea about the ‘D’ of the word development. In case of the NDA the matter reached to such a pass that the two CMs––Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi––ended up quarreling and splitting the alliance all in the name of being more developmental-minded. Now both these old friends are after each other’s blood.

Development can never be looked in isolation. If Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi are abusing each other publicly over the claim of development they at least should give some credit to the Centre, which has been generous to Bihar in the last eight years.

Is not it a fact that the UPA government gave Rs 1.38 lakh crore in the past nine years as compared to just under Rs 8,000 crore provided by the Vajpayee government to the Rabri Devi government between 1998 and 2004.

How can one deny that thousands of crores have been pumped in Bihar––as in other states––under the centrally sponsored schemes such as National Rural Health Mission, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutkaran Yojana, East-West, North-South Corridors, Golden Quadrilateral, MNREGA, Mid-day Meal, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan etc.

Why not give what is due to the Manmohan Singh government? True a couple of schemes were launched by the previous Vajpayee government too. Was it really possible for Bihar to reach such a stage without the generosity of the Centre? The answer is simply no.

What is shocking is the claim made by the BJP leaders that the health sector (for example) improved in Bihar as Chandra Mohan Rai, Nand Kishore Yadav and Ashwini Choubey of the party headed it in the last so many years. The truth is that the condition of the health sector is shocking. The PMCH could not treat the Chhath devotees who met with accident only on November 19, 2012 and many of them had to be shifted to private hospitals.

In March and May this year a newspaper dared to file two reports stating that PMCH has no money even to buy cotton, soaps, towels etc. All the medical colleges of the state are facing serious shortage of faculty and according to one estimate over 500 patients had died in the last eight years of doctors strikes in the state. The then health minister Ashwini Choubey once hit the headlines by threatening the
doctors that their hands would be chopped off.

Taking all credit for the success of centrally-sponsored NRHM is total.unfair. Still there is loot and corruption there too. Doctors are not paid salaries for months. And what about the infamous uterus scam?

Development is not such an issue, whose credit one CM or one ministerm or a group of 11 (the BJP had this number till June 16 last) can take.It is the product of a team-work and much depends on the attitude of the Centre.

The problem in India is with the media, which is either biased, selective or lack knowledge about the issue. Many of them do not have knowledge of central subjects, state subjects and concurrent lists. So
a senior editor of a top daily came all the way from New Delhi to filen a big front page story giving the entire credit to the Nitish Kumar government for the construction of East-West Corridor.

Now take another example. These too clever by half journalists would cite the example of state’s backwardness in the previous regime by quoting data of 1999 and than again of 2001 to prove that look how backward Bihar had travelled during this two years of the Jungle Raj.

True the growth rate of Bihar was then not so high as today yet it is a fact that quoting such figures without informing the readers that Bihar got bifurcated in 2000 and Jharkhand was created, is immoral and criminal. With all the mines and industries gone the figures would naturally be in negative.

Today the whole myth of development woven dexterously by Nitish Kumar, the BJP and the media stand exploded. The truth is really dawning upon the people that they have all been fooled by the three. That is why Bihar today still occupies the bottom place in almost all the human development indices as it was a decade back.