Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Two days after Narendra Modi attacked him on his turf, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar made an equally scathing counter-attack, accusing the BJP's prime ministerial candidate of openly seeking votes on the basis of caste in Bihar.
He rubbished Mr Modi's multiple allegations against him and then, admitting that his Bihar is a backward state, hurled figures at Mr Modi to "highlight the truth about development in his Gujarat."
Nitish Kumar's 10 main posers to Narendra Modi:
How did state income in "backward" Bihar grow at 11.5 per cent from 2008-2009 to 2012-13, while it grew only 9.1 per cent in Gujarat, Mr Kumar asked.
"Why, in the last decade, did the literacy rate in Bihar go up by 16.8 per cent and in Gujarat only by 10 per cent," he asked.
He also wanted to know "How did poverty decline by 20.7 per cent between 2005-2006 and 2011-12 in Bihar and only 15 per cent in developed Gujarat?"
In Gujarat, Mr Kumar said, the school drop-out rate was unacceptably high at 58 per cent compared to the national average of 49 per cent. He said the drop-out rate for Dalits had gone up to 65 per cent and for tribals to 78 per cent in Mr Modi's state.
The Bihar chief minister said his state was among the country's top five states on implementation of the mid-day meal for school children, according to the Government of India. Gujarat, he said, was at number 25.
In Bihar, Mr Kumar pointed out, all girls enrolled in government schools are given money for uniforms and scholarships. Also he said boys and girls in class 9 and 10 are given money to buy bicycles. Does Mr Modi's Gujarat provide this, he asked.
In Gujarat's primary health centres, Mr Kumar alleged, there is a 34 per cent shortage of doctors and no specialised doctors in 94 per cent of them.
He also alleged that in Gujarat there are about two lakh children employed in the production of BT cotton, of which 33 per cent are below 14 years of age.
In Bihar, the Chief Minister said, of the 4000 secondary or higher secondary schools, computer education is being provided in nearly 50 per cent; Mr Modi had claimed the figure was only two per cent.
He said milk is cheaper in "backward" Bihar than in "developed" Gujarat only by a rupee or two at 30 rupees a litre.
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