Bhubaneswar: Union minister Ramdas Athawale Saturday asserted that Bihar recorded a high voter turnout in the first phase of the Assembly elections due to developmental work done by the BJP and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and the NDA would benefit from it.
He was referring to the 65.09 per cent turnout registered across 121 Assembly segments where voting was held on November 6.
He also claimed that atrocities against Dalits in Odisha are higher compared to many other states.
Speaking to media persons in Bhubaneswar, Athawale said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently provided a big package for Bihar and given sufficient funds for development of Bihar during the last 11 years. CM Nitish Kumar has also done many things in the state and provided Rs 10,000 to each woman.”
Because a lot of developmental works are being carried out in Bihar, a large number of voters turned out to polling booths in the first phase election and the NDA will benefit from it, he claimed.
“I am confident that we will get 150 to 160 seats in the Bihar Assembly poll and Nitish Kumar will become the chief minister again,” the NDA leader further claimed.
The RPI(A) leader claimed that the Congress was initially not in favour to project RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav as the INDIA bloc’s chief minister face.
The Congress party knew that they were not going to win the election, so they decided not to declare the CM face, he claimed.
“The RJD-Congress alliance will not succeed because the people of Bihar have seen the jungle raj during the tenure of Lalu Prasad Yadav. But, during Nitish Kumar’s regime, the people have witnessed development works in their state, so a large number of people came out of home and voted,” he said.
Commenting on ‘vote chori’ allegation on BJP by Rahul Gandhi, the union minister said, “Modi ji has not become the Prime Minister by indulging in vote chori. The Congress won the assembly polls in Karnataka and Telangana. The Congress seats in Lok Sabha increased from 40 to 99. Whether they have done vote chori?”
Such allegations are baseless and Gandhi is speaking blatant lies, he alleged.
“The Election Commission is an independent body. It has no connection with the government. Therefore, it is not right to blame the government,” the senior leader commented.
On BJD chief Naveen Patnaik, Athawale said he is a very good person and was a minister in the NDA government at the Centre.
“Patnaik has done a great job in 24 years as the chief minister of Odisha. He has a very good relationship with me. He has contributed a lot to the development of Odisha. Now the BJP government is also doing good work in Odisha,” Athawale said.
The Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, after reviewing various schemes of his ministry in Odisha, expressed concern over rising atrocities against Dalits in the state and directed the officers concerned to take measures to prevent it.
He observed that the atrocities against Dalits in Odisha are higher compared to many other states.
“I wanted to discuss this issue with the chief minister, but he is busy. When I come to Odisha next time, I will meet him and discuss the issue,” he stated.
PTI
