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04/10/2015 PM’s comparison of Bihar with Jharkhand comes under criticism from various quarters
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Speaking at Banka he did not raise the issue of communal disturbances in Ranchi or big rise in incidednts of crime in that state but cited a selective data to pat the Jharkhand chief minister on his back. He said that while 21 people died of kalazar in Jharkhand, 300 perished in Bihar. While chief minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad were quick to reject Modi’s speech out of hand, Tejaswi Yadav once again raised the issue of the killing of two persons in front of a police station in Ranchi only a few days before PM’s visit. He raised the issue of Vyapam scam and killing of so many witnesses in Madhya Pradesh and the situation in Gujarat where the state’s communication line was snapped following the Patel agitation. “Why is not the prime speaking? Where is the jungle Raj?,” he asked. Independent professionals and academics in Bihar wondered as to how can the figures of two states be compared when they are entirely different in nature. Bihar has about five times more population and is wholly agrarian while Jharkhand is the highest producer of minerals and the industrial hub of India for last one century. The comparison drew flak from medical fraternity as it is being asked as to how can the two states be compared when kalazar is common in the riverine, water-logged and flood-prone region of north Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. It is in these places that sand-flies are found in abundance. According to doctors it would be better to compare Jharkhand with Bihar on other diseases, for example, malaria. The performance of Jharkhand in health sector is not worth praising, they said. Before speaking on the issue the prime minister should have consulted the former Union health minister and BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP, Dr C P Thakur, as he is an expert on kalazar and has treated thousands of patients in the last five decades, said an observer. On the issue of World Bank report released last month on attracting investment the prime minister said that till sometimes back Bihar was ranked 27th while Jharkhand 29th. The latest report, according to Narendra Modi, says that while Bihar is still on the 27th position Jharkhand has jumped to third. A Bihar watcher was surprised by such a fantastic way of highlighting the achievements of the Raghuvar Das government. “How can this nine month old government take credit when attracting investment is a long process and the survey too was done a few months back. It was only released last month. The prime minister has inadvertently praised the former chief minister Hemant Soren, rather than his own government,” he said sarcastically adding that even a layman has this much understanding about these issues. Though Nitish and Lalu questioned Modi’s silence on RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s stand on need to review the policy of reservation they even asked as to what is there in Jharkhand to be highlighted in Bihar. Former media personality Satya Narayan Madan said that in this era of regional television channels one can not hide the fact that ever since the advent of Raghuvar Das government early this year the law and order situation has deteriorated. “How can there be two standards. While a doctor abducted by criminals from Bihar is recovered another doctor taken away from Lohardagga in Jharkhand did not return alive, even though some media reports suggested that the ransom money was paid. Only his body could be recovered. This is the real situation of health sector in Jharkhand, rather than less number of kalazar death,” said Krishna Murari, a businessman.
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