I'm in politics and and I also have a dream - of a different Bihar. Let me make it clear that I don't have any thing personal against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who is also the face of the NDA in the approaching election. My decision to go solo and break from the NDA in Bihar was borne of my conviction that if my state has to develop, then it needs a double-engine government in letter and in spirit where a BJP leader is in charge of the state work in tandem with our Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
You examine the performance of Nitish Kumar after he returned to the NDA fold in 2017. It's all about him and his Saat Nischay (7 Resolutions for Good Governance) which is a major den of corruption. I request every citizen of India to travel to Bihar and see for themselves and judge whether the work and money spent under these schemes have given pathetic results of pathetic results.
It's nothing less than looting tax-payers' money. Sorry, I can't be part of his agenda of mid-governance. Just to provoke and insult us, he unveiled Saat Nischay Part 2.
That's why my main aim remains a BJP-led government which works on and with an NDA agenda of governance. Even when we were part of his government, he hardly engaged with allies and I don't want to be part of any government where my agenda's ignored.
The BJP and Nitish Kumar's JDU have reached a 50:50 seat sharing deal for Bihar elections
On my "Bihar First, Bihari First" mission, we have taken feedback from over four lakh people and incorporated every suggestion into this manifesto for the state. If migration of workers to other states is big issue, then please see, we have come up with solutions. The same approach has been taken for the lack of development and industrialisation. Or to be better prepared for floods. Or to improve the poor education. For each of these challenges, we have an action plan ready in the eventuality of a BJP-led government coming to power. That is my main goal.
I need to stress that I was really running out of patience with this Nitish Kumar style of "15 saal pahle aisa tha, aur ab itna kiya, santosh karo" (15 years ago, it was like this, now have done so much, be happy). You are just not open to any new or modern ideas and this sort of mindset will sink the people of Bihar and I will not accept that. Nitish Kumar's bar is low- he is comparing a bad situation to a worse one. I have to draw a line against this sort of administration.
You see how our Prime Minister Narendra Modi functions and performs - he is my role model for governance. It's because of him that we have been with the NDA since 2014 - unlike Nitish Kumar who walked out, challenged the PM. That is betrayal. It is a different matter that people taught him a lesson and ultimately, he has to come and seek refuge with the PM again.
Yes, I am firmly with the PM but the decision I have taken also allows me to act for the betterment of my people. So when people asked why I left the NDA in Bihar, it was not about how many seats we were being given to contest. We hardly discussed that. My party leaders and workers urged me to protect the interest of Bihar and Biharis. I was not able to have a BJP leader named the presumptive Chief Minister but now I am focusing on a BJP head of state after the election.
Let me assure you- we will drive Nitish Kumar out.
(Chirag Paswan is the President of the Lok Janshakti Party)
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