New Nitish Kumar cabinet full of corrupts, criminals, alleges Prashant Kishor
Bettiah (PTI): Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Friday alleged that the new cabinet of the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar was full of corrupt and criminal leaders.
Speaking to reporters after a day-long silent fast at Gandhi Ashram in West Champaran, Kishor also said his party will launch the 'Bihar Navnirman Sankalp Yatra' on January 15, during which Jan Suraaj Party workers will visit all houses in the state.
"The new cabinet of Nitish Kumar, which took oath on Thursday, is full of corrupts and criminals. I must say that this council of ministers is a slap in the face of the people of Bihar. It's like rubbing salt on the wound as several corrupt leaders were inducted," he alleged, days after drubbing in the recently held assembly elections in the state.
Kishor claimed the leaders inducted into the cabinet indicate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and CM Kumar are least concerned about Bihar.
"They have purchased votes by transferring Rs 10,000 into the bank account of more than 1 crore women. Now, they have no concern for the state or the people," he alleged.
"If I am saying anything wrong, the state government can put me behind bars," he added.
Kishor claimed the government diverted funds from the state's contingency fund and a grant from the World Bank for the cash transfer scheme.
"Now, we will ensure that women get Rs 2 lakh as promised by the NDA ahead of the polls," he said.
Kishore said as part of the 'Bihar Navnirman Sankalp Yatra', Jan Suraaj Party workers, including him, will visit every house in the state.
"We will visit all houses in the state over 15-18 months and create awareness among the people about the misdeeds of this government. The organisation of the Jan Suraaj Party will be strengthened before the campaign starts," he said.
The former poll strategist said he will donate 90 per cent of his income over the next five years for the party's campaign.
"Besides, whatever assets I have acquired in the last 20 years, except my Delhi house, I will donate those for the party," he said.
"Now, I request the people of Bihar to donate just Rs 1,000 to the party on a yearly basis. I will not meet anyone who doesn't donate this amount to the party," he said.
Kishor said he believes in Mahatma Gandhi's ideology of patience and perseverance.
"We will change the government. They tried to break our morale in this election. We will fight and win," he said.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
