Gayaji: Chief minister Nitish Kumar used the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bodh Gaya on Friday to underline his government’s welfare policies and contrast them with the record of previous administrations.
Addressing a gathering at the Magadh University campus, where the prime minister unveiled and laid foundation stones for projects worth Rs 13,000 crore, CM Nitish pointed to measures such as providing 125 units of electricity free of cost and raising the social security pension from Rs 400 to Rs 1,100 a month.
“We worked for everyone — women, minorities and the poor — when earlier nothing was being done,” Nitish said, criticising past governments for neglecting marginalised groups. He added that Bihar had achieved universal household electrification in 2018 and had continued to expand welfare coverage.
The chief minister also stressed that the state was receiving strong backing from the Centre, citing a special package in this year’s budget and Bihar’s hosting of the Khelo India Youth Games. “Work is being done in all areas — education, health, roads and electricity,” he said.
Earlier, PM Modi inaugurated a series of infrastructure and development schemes and virtually flagged off the Gayaji–New Delhi Amrit Bharat Express and the Vaishali–Koderma Buddhist Circuit Train. Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi also praised the prime minister’s initiatives, calling them “a slap in the face of those who demanded special state status for Bihar.”
