Bihar ruined in last 20 yrs, says Sonia

BEGUSARAI/BHAGALPUR: ‘‘ Haathi ke daant khane ke aur, dikhane ke aur,’’ (a Hindi idiom meaning some people are not what they appear to be) said Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday as she questioned afresh the secular credentials of ‘‘ opportunist’ ’ JD-U leader Nitish Kumar who has partnered with BJP to become chief minister.

Addressing massive election meetings at Begusarai and Bhagalpur’s Nathnagar, the Congress leader exhorted people to vote the NDA out of power and pave the way for formation of a Congress government in the state. ‘‘ Bihar needs a change in the government for fast development ,’’ she said.

She said though the UPA government allotted several thousand crore rupees for various welfare schemes such as MNREGA, Indira Awaas and mid-day meal, development was not visible on the ground. The Nitish government failed to properly implement the Central government schemes, she said and held the state governments during the last 20 years responsible for a decline in the irrigation system and power generation.

At Nathnagar, the Rae Bareli MP said Bhagalpur is famous for Tassar silk and other products worldwide. ‘‘ But power crisis has spelt doom for the silk industry,’’ she said, adding the state government did nothing to improve the power situation.

‘‘ The NDA promised the moon before the last elections but as they failed to deliver , they developed the habit of blaming the Centre for all their failures,’’ the UPA chairperson said.

Hrs before rally, Congmen held with cash

Hours before Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s election rally in Begusarai on Thursday, AICC secretary Sagar Raika and Youth Congress’ state president Lallan Kumar were arrested following recovery of Rs 6.44 lakh from their room in a posh Begusarai hotel on Wednesday night. The cash was kept in a bag when a joint team of police and income-tax sleuths conducted a search operation in the hotel.

‘‘ We had prior information about movement of cash in hotels,’’ Jitendra Shrivastava, Begusarai DM-cum-district election officer, told TOI. When the search team reached the hotel, Lallan was coming out of the room he shared with Raika. He was carrying a handbag, which he allegedly refused to open despite requests by police. The search team then informed the district HQ about his defiance, following which DM Shrivastava and SP Vinay Kumar arrived at the hotel, sources said.