Congress Sharpen Attack Against NDA

By Fnf Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 24, Feb 2025, 15:42 pm IST | UPDATED: 24, Feb 2025, 15:42 pm IST

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Bihar on Monday, where he will release the 19th instalment of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme in Bhagalpur. During his visit, he will also address a public rally at the Airport Ground and interact with farmers from several nearby districts, including Banka, Begusarai, Khagaria, Purnea, Katihar, Madhepura, Kishanganj, Araria, Lakhisarai, Jamui, and Munger.

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s arrival, the opposition Mahagathbandhan has intensified its criticism of the ruling NDA government. The Congress has raised concerns over Bihar’s long-pending demands, questioning why the state has not been granted Special Category Status as promised and why several key projects remain incomplete.

Congress leader and general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, posed four specific questions to the Prime Minister regarding Bihar’s development, further fueling the political debate ahead of Modi’s visit.

"Where are the promised airports for Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, and Purnea...The PM promised an airport in Purnea on 18th August, 2015. Six years and three Nitish Kumar U-turns later, his government is yet to fulfil the promise," Ramesh said.

The Congress said that PM Modi had promised to open Patahi Airport in Muzaffarpur in 2019 and in 2023, Home Minister Amit Shah also pledged to kickstart operations at the Patahi airport, while the BJP promised a fully operational airport by Diwali 2023. Why hasn't Bihar been granted Special Category Status as the PM had promised, he asked.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged that the PM had chosen Bihar for the function with an eye on assembly polls which are due in a few months. "Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is in Bihar today. His NDA government has been in the state for 20 years and at the Centre for 11 years. The people of Bihar want to ask him some valid questions and not lies and Jumlas. The problems, challenges and crises of the farmers of Bihar are different from those of other states. There are more agricultural labourers and sharecroppers in Bihar. What special did the double-engine government do for them? Why is the income of Bihar farmers the lowest in the country? Why is Bihar's literacy rate the lowest in the country? Why is per capita investment the lowest in Bihar? Why was Bihar not given a textile park under the Centre's PM Shri Mega Textile Park scheme?" asked Tejashwi Yadav.

The assembly polls are due in Bihar in November this year. The NDA has exuded confidence in winning more than 200 seats in the 243-member assembly. On the other hand, both the RJD and Congress are confident of unseating the NDA. In the 2020 assembly polls, the BJP had won 74 seats, JDU 43, RJD 75 and Congress 19. The Mahagathbandhan comprises of RJD, Congress, VIP and Left while the NDA constitutes of BJP, JDU, LJP-RV and HAM.