NEW DELHI, Oct 4: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday blamed the “devastated state of education” during the RJD rule as a major reason for the large-scale migration from Bihar and lauded the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government for improving the situation and setting the state on a path to progress.
Speaking at the inauguration of a host of education and skilling initiatives for the youth, including several projects for the poll-bound state, Modi took a veiled swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is often lauded by his party members as ‘Jan Nayak’, an honorific associated with respected OBC leader and former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur.
The people of Bihar should be vigilant to attempts by some to “steal” the honour long associated with Thakur, Modi said, without naming Gandhi.
Thakur was not bestowed the title of Jan Nayak by social media trolls, but it is a reflection of people’s love for him, he added.
The Modi government had honoured the late OBC leader with Bharat Ratna last year.
Modi also unveiled various youth-focused initiatives worth more than Rs 62,000 crore, with a special emphasis on Bihar, which is likely to go to polls by the end of October or November.
Modi launched PM-SETU (Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs), a centrally sponsored scheme with an investment of Rs 60,000 crore.
Praising Chief Minister Kumar, Modi said the Bihar government has taken new resolves for the state’s development and has decided to double the number of people getting employment in the next five years as compared to the last 20 years.
The idea is to ensure that youngsters of Bihar are employed within the state, he said, with the issue of migration gaining in sapience during the ongoing assembly poll campaign.
Modi remarked that reviving a tree whose roots have been infested is a formidable feat, and likened the condition of Bihar under the opposition’s misgovernance to such a tree.
He stated that, fortunately, the people of Bihar entrusted Kumar with the responsibility of governance, and the “entire team of the coalition government worked collectively to restore the derailed systems”.
Noting that thousands of youth from Bihar participated in the programme, Modi asserted that this generation may not fully grasp how the education system in Bihar was devastated two to two-and-a-half decades ago.
He emphasised that every parent wishes for their child to study and progress locally.
However, due to compulsions, lakhs of children had to leave Bihar and migrate to places like Banaras, Delhi, and Mumbai. He identified this as the true beginning of migration.
It is rather difficult to restore a tree whose roots are rotting, and this was the state of Bihar during the RJD rule, he said, lauding the NDA government in the state for its work to effect a turnaround. (PTI)
