"Caste Has An Appeal, But It Is Limited": BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad To NDTV

BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, while speaking at NDTV's Bihar Power Play Conclave on Saturday, downplayed caste-based politics in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections. According to him, while caste has an "appeal", it is "limited".

"Caste is a reality. But if it were the only reality, Lalu Yadav would have never been defeated. Caste has an appeal, but the appeal is limited where the larger issues of governance, nationalism, delivery, and national security come to play," he said.

Ravi Shankar Prasad praised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, calling him a "very honest" person. "Nitish Kumar is the Chief Ministerial face and will remain. He is very honest. He has been the Chief Minister for 20 years. And the way he has run the government is a remarkable achievement," he said.

The BJP MP also drew a comparison between the current Nitish Kumar-led government and the previous "jungle raj".

"Bihar has had the misfortune of bad governance for many years. But today, you can reach any part of India by road from Bihar. I played a crucial role in getting the new Patna airport executed. TCS has come to Patna, two central universities have come to Bihar, and new medical colleges have come as well. There is a remarkable turnaround in that process. The BPO industry is doing well in Bihar. As an IT minister, it was my responsibility to ensure digital inclusion as a part of Digital India. Today, Digital India has become a big movement. Digital payments are best performing in Bihar," he said.

He noted that while 94,000 jobs were created during the Lalu Yadav-Rabri Devi regime, 18 lakh jobs were given in the Nitish Kumar-led government. "One crore jobs have also been promised," he said.

The BJP MP also hit out at the previous Lalu Prasad Yadav-led government, urging people to remember the "jungle raj".

"If you bought a new car or there was a wedding in your family, you were kidnapped, the negotiation of release would happen from the Chief Minister's House. How can you expect industries to come to the state in such an environment? But now, agro industries have entered Bihar. All these things have created employment," he said.