Slamming the Centre for not extending any assistance for relief and rehabilitation of flood victims in Bihar, CM Nitish Kumar said he would not flinch from wagging an agitation.
DARBHANGA (Bihar): Slamming the Centre for not extending any assistance for relief and rehabilitation of flood victims in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said he would not flinch from wagging an agitation against the UPA government if the state was denied its due.
"The state government has so far spent Rs 1300 crores to help the victims of this year's devastating floods but not a single paisa has been received from the Centre beyond state's share of calamity relief fund," Kumar said at a public meeting here after launching 4369 development schemes worth Rs 1209 crore for Darbhanga district.
"I have seen statements of the Union Minister from Bihar that the Centre is giving sacks containing money, but have not received even one," he said in an apparent dig at Railway Minister Lalu Prasad.
"I will not hesitate in mobilising the people of Bihar for an agitation if the Centre continues to deny the state its due," the Chief Minister warned.
Kumar said even if no assistance was received from the Centre, the state government would reconstruct the house of those rendered homeless in this year's floods through its own resources by May next year.
Asserting that his government had given a fresh impetus to development, Kumar said he would not seek votes if benefits of the progress did not reach the people over the next two-and-a-half years from now.
Kumar also attacked the Centre for neglecting 'power-starved' Bihar in allocation of electricity from the central sector.
"We are totally dependent on Centre to meet our requirement of 1150 MW as all important power stations went to Jharkhand. This is adversely impacting development," he said.
He said the thermal power station (TPS) at Barauni, which was renovated recently, is generating a meagre 90 MW now on a trial basis and the situation would improve marginally after the renovation of TPS at Kanti in Muzaffarpur.
The chief minister also distributed assets worth Rs 35 crores, 24.68 acres of land among the poor and the landless, and 108 tricycles among the disabled.
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