25/06/2012

Nitish and Narendra

 

Indra R Sharma

I had come to USA leaving the Indian politics behind. However, whatever is happening in India makes me feel sorry for the country and more so because the hero (or villain) in the story is from Bihar. Why are the politics and politicians in effective power becoming so intolerable and thus unattractive?

Nitish views of “secular credentials" as a necessity for being India’s prime minister wouldn’t have carried much worry if it wouldn’t have come at this moment in India when the political parties are regrouping the alliances in the election of the president of the country. Very smartly, he didn’t name the person, but even a child knows that he meant the chief minister of Gujarat. Why shouldn’t Nitish be brave and name him clearly?

Nitish Kumar has once again tried to cross the norms of a great chief minster that many and I too will wish to see him. I strongly denounce the way he tries to capture the headline and creates some turbulence in the alliance. At least he must not go this way in the interest of the people of the state.

Moreover, the people of Bihar have elected Nitish because of his alliance with a party and alliance in which he served as the cabinet minister of India too.

Have the people of Bihar given Nitish Kumar the mandate to decide if a chief minister of another state of India is ‘secular’ and to permit his spokesman to call the same person ‘fanatic’? I wish Nitish would not have expressed his view this way just for appeasing a community even if he intends to go some other political group? Would it stop him from aspiring to be the prime minister that he pretends that he doesn’t wish?

Is it not a poor strategy for the wellbeing of the migrant people of Bihar? Fortunately, Gujarat doesn’t have some Bal/ Udhav/Raj Thakre who can make this an issue against all the migrants from Bihar working in Gujarat and the people of Gujarat are not as fanatic.

Further, what does Nitish try to tell the world by siding with Pranab Mukherji? Is not Pranab one of the main heroes of the same dynastic party and its policies and actions for all these years that he had decided to oppose along with his other friends at one time to join the present alliance? Doesn’t Nitish Kumar believe that the government at centre is corrupt and is the cause for major of the ills of economy today? Does Nitish agree with his irresponsible spokesman that the reason of high inflation is the globalization and not the governance? As engineer chief minister, Nitish must tell truth to the people of Bihar in no uncertain words.

Few more questions are haunting me after reading many views of and about Nitish- but almost all in newspapers of one media group. Is the Group any way influencing Nitish Kumar or alternatively is Nitish Kumar assisting the media group as his sole agent instead of expressing his views in a press conference?

The group published first published his interview. Then Saturday issues of ‘Crest’ and Economic Times had one major article each on the ‘Nitish vs. Narendra’ issue.

Let me clarify that I neither know nor a fan of Narendra Modi. However, because of association with Gujarat since early 90s I am impressed with the way it has developed and changed. I was also impressed the way he snatched the opportunity from West Bengal for the Nano project that many other states also wished. Who could have thought of Gujarat becoming a major cluster of automobile production?

I don’t know the reason for the sudden love of Nitish for Pranab Mukherji. After all if Pranab was so enthusiastic for Nitish and Bihar, he could have certainly helped Nitish and Bihar in last so many years. Why should Nitish find an excuse for going closer to the Nehru Sonia Dynasty? Who knows perhaps Nitish might be having similar compulsion as it came out forMulayam or Nitish also may be trying to experiment as Mulayam had been doing over the years.

Why did Nitish come out against BJP or Narendra Modi at this time? Is there some invisible agency after the creating the rift at this moment? It appears that both-Nitish and Narendra are in pseudo fight with each other for quite some time now. However, fortunately Narendra has not been reacting himself.

It is not only the first letter of the name, but something more is similar between the two. Both the states are putting a lot of emphasis on development, but the basic parameters of human developments are very poor in both states.

I wish Nitish would have focused on real areas of development in Bihar such as effective education in rural Bihar and total lack of higher education facility of the state or power plants instead of depending on the views of some educated sycophants about his mirage of achievements on development fronts. Bihar is far behind. Nitish must focus on making Bihar prosperous not by getting the number of BPL enhanced but by empowering them to lead a better life.

Why should Modi remain a source of distress for Nitish?

 


Disclaimer: The views expressed in this report are purely those of the author and may not in any circumstances be regarded as the official view of BiharTimes.

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