Centre ignoring Bihar, charges NDA

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the NDA raised the pitch of its campaign in Bihar, accusing the Manmohan Singh government of discriminating against the state even on a serious issue such as Kosi flood. The issue was raised in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday by JD(U) president Sharad Yadav and his party colleague Shivanand Tiwari as soon as the House assembled for the day, and is expected find resonance in the Lok Sabha on 

Thursday, when former Union minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain takes up cudgels on behalf of the state.

The issue was also dwelt at length during a meeting of the NDA floor-managers here on Thursday. Mr Yadav, who’s also the 

convenor of the Opposition alliance, alleged that the Centre had till date not released ``a single penny,’’ despite the fact that the team sent by the Centre to assess the extent of damage caused by the Kosi flood had made out a case for a relief package worth Rs 14,808 crore.

``The destruction caused by the flood was so huge that the Centre was constrained to declare it a national calamity. The central team, after undertaking an intensive survey of the area, prepared a memorandum seeking a relief package worth Rs 14,808 crore. Some 35 lakh people were affected, three lakh houses had collapsed and infrastructure in the region was devastated. However, not a single penny has been given by the Centre so far,” BJP parliamentary party spokesperson Sushma Swaraj told newspersons on Wednesday afternoon while quoting the JD(U) president.

With elections to the Lok Sabha round the corner, the NDA is planning to convert the issue into one of its campaign planks. ``We’ve been complaining that the Centre is discriminating against the NDA-ruled states. The latest episode only lends credence to our charge,’’ the BJP spokesperson said.

Mr Yadav has already moved an adjournment motion on the subject in the Rajya Sabha, but his party finds its hands tied in the Lower House as all its members have resigned from the House. The onus for highlighting the issue in the House has thus fallen on the BJP.