On a trip to galvanise his party in Bihar ahead of the assembly polls, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of maintaining a double face on relationship with Bharatiya Janata Party and Narendra Modi, at a rally in Saharsa.
The Congress leader also said he prayed for the well being of the three policemen kidnapped by Maoists during a fierce encounter in Lakhisarai district.
"I pray for the policemen taken hostage by the Maoists from Lakhisarai. I also pray for the one who was killed (by the Maoists)," Gandhi told a rally in Samastipur.
Three policemen were being held as captives by the ultras while one of them, the Maoists killed assistant sub-inspector Lucas Tete, and on Friday his bullet-ridden body was recovered from Lakhisarai.
Meanwhile, while kicking off his party's campaign at a rally in Saharsa, Rahul Gandhi said, "Modi did not campaign in the last assembly polls in Bihar, but shortly after the election was over he (Kumar) was sighted with Modi holding his hands at an National Democratic Alliance rally in Punjab. Kumar is maintaining a double face before and after polls."
He said Kumar had remained a Union minister during the NDA rule at the Centre even after the Gujarat riots, but his government sat idle even when Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray instigated attacks against migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Gandhi also criticised Kumar for objecting to the Gujarat chief minister campaigning in Bihar.
The All India Congress Committee general secretary slammed the chief minister for his claim of developing Bihar and appealed to the people to bring Congress to power to ensure all-round growth of the state.
"If development has at all taken place in Bihar, then why are people migrating to Mumbai, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi for livelihood," Gandhi asked.
"Wherever I visit -- be it Mumbai, Punjab or Haryana -- I am informed about the plight of people from Bihar who have migrated to those states for jobs," he said.
The Centre had provided more financial assistance to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar than other states, and 'it is unfortunate to know that though funds reached Patna and Lucknow from Delhi, these did not reach the poor in rural areas,' he said.
Refuting Kumar's charge of step-motherly treatment to Bihar by the Centre, he said the United Progressive Alliance government had provided funds to the tune of about Rs 19,000 crore for rural development as against just Rs 3,000 crore given by the erstwhile NDA government.
Narrating his experience in Uttar Pradesh, Gandhi said he had been advised by some senior leaders of his party that his spending time in that state for improving the prospects of the party would go waste.
"But I decided to undertake the campaign and ensure the party's success in UP where people now take Congress as a suitable choice to replace the present regime. Now similar situation prevails in Bihar. People look at Congress as a great hope. We have to bring in change in the state which was going in the reverse gear. Here development is stagnant for the past over 20 years," he said, adding Congress will cater to the interests of every sections of the society if voted to power.
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