UPA provided Rs 2 lakh crore development assistance to Bihar: Congress

PATNA: Congress today claimed that the UPA government of Manmohan Singh had provided Rs 2 lakh crore to spur development in Bihar.

"The UPA government of Manmohan Singh during its tenure had provided Rs 2 lakh crore to spur development of Bihar. The benefit of this amount came by way of six power projects, national highways, state highways and roads built in villages out of Prime Minister's Grameen Sadak yojna," state Congress President Ashok Choudhary told reporters here.

The Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) was started in 2006 under the Manmohan Singh government, he said.

The Congress had constituted Raghuram Rajan committee in March 2014 which paved way for special assistance for four states including Bihar, he said, adding "This proves that Congress always had priority to pull Bihar out of backwardness."

BJP has been questioning the role of Congress in Bihar since the announcement of Rs 1.25 lakh crore special package by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the poll-bound state.

Referring to assertions by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on the special package, the PCC chief said "Bhagwat's statement laid bare the truth of special package of BJP and also freed them of providing this repackaging of old schemes."

Congress is an ally of JD(U) and RJD in the grand secular alliance in Bihar polls.