Updated: October 18, 2020 4:10:05 pm
Bihar’s Minister of Water Resources, Sanjay Kumar Jha (File photo)
In an interview for The Indian Express, Bihar’s Minister of Water Resources Sanjay Kumar Jha talks about how CM Nitish Kumar, following the announcement of the closure, helped prevent a major economic crisis in Bihar, and emphasizes that the mapping program JD (U) government skills training will create employment opportunities
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been in charge for fifteen years. The opposition says there is anti-concern. You see it?
I do not think so. (Head of JD (U) and Bihar CM) Nitish Kumar has changed the narrative of Bihar politics… He has generated excitement. Fifteen years is a long time. Some people may think that more work could have been done, but what we are seeing in the field is different. If they think that more needs to be done, they also believe that only Kumar can do it.
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The leaders of JD (U), including the CM, often compare Bihar to what it was during the regime of (RJD chief) Lalu Prasad (1990-2005). Isn’t this an admission that the last five years have not been good enough?
We say this because this was not a field you could come to and start hitting. This was a hole. What had (then the RJD government) left in the state? Rampant corruption, a finished (failed) bureaucracy. The CPWD (Central Department of Public Works), which manufactures buildings in Delhi, used to come here and build roads. No contractor would come, no businessman was left. Every day there were kidnappings. You have to see where Kumar started from. Biharis used to be a laughingstock. That was the inherited Bihar Kumar. In a caste-based society like Bihar’s, if he didn’t have dedication and commitment, we couldn’t build Bihari pride.
But hasn’t Kumar created sub-castes and a loyal vote base for himself?
It is the first CM in the country to give a 50 percent reserve to women in panchayats. Three elections have occurred. Talk to the mukhiya women and the zila parishads. Now there is a force of women in politics. No one had thought about what a Bihar woman thinks about politics. He created that narrative. That’s what Kumar is.
In recent months, the country and Bihar have experienced difficult times. The migrants returned home, there are economic problems and the state also witnessed floods. Initially, Kumar had said that migrants should not return. Was there anger against the government’s position?
He never said, “Don’t come back.” He only said that the Center has set guidelines for no movement to take place … When the pandemic hit, people thought Bihar would be hit the hardest. They thought the migrants would return and spread the virus in their villages, and the state will be affected. That narrative is no longer talked about. The recovery rate in Bihar is 94%. The tests are among the highest. People broke the chain by staying in quarantine centers.
But what about the financial difficulties?
Abhijit Banerjee (Nobel Laureate in Economics) said that if cash is transferred directly to people and if they spend that money, the economy will start to move. Kumar transferred 2 billion rupees to people’s bank accounts in different ways. The three-month old-age pension was paid in advance, 1,000 rupees were awarded to each migrant and money was allocated for scholarships for girls. I am not saying that the problem is solved. But he was aware that only when he gives the money will the economy start to move. Bihar did this in the first few months. Yes, there are economic problems, but the whole country is facing it.
It is in alliance with the BJP, and it was the Prime Minister who suddenly announced the closure. Will that damage your alliance?
That is not a problem in the elections. The migrants returned and 5,300 rupees were spent on each one who returned and stayed in the quarantine centers.
So has the anger been successfully subsided?
Yes, the anger has subsided. We have never done skill mapping before. So now we have data on all the people who stayed in the quarantine centers. In places like Bettiah (in the Champaran district), Supaul, Purnea, Darbhanga, people make masks out of Mithila paintings and sell them on Amazon and Flipkart … I have been told that in Bettiah, people (who have returned) from Surat and Jaipur have joined textile work. They told me they didn’t want to go back. The local administration helped and the (factory) owners have now installed machines. What I’m saying is that they are now using their skills here as well.
Many migrants, who were facing financial difficulties, have now returned from where they came. If their profits fall, will they continue to vote for the government?
Economic distress is a problem across India. I won’t say it has no impact. But for the most part, the handling of Covid-19 in Bihar, if analyzed, was done well. Around 22 lakh of immigrants received 1,000 rupees each. People trust that when CM talks about skills, it will happen. In Delhi, I have visited places like Sangam Vihar and Badarpur. Even there, the problem is drinking water and roads. But can the opposition here in Bihar fight the elections on rasta (roads), bijli (electricity), paani (drinking water)? These are the key issues in India. We have worked on these.
Who is your opposition in this election? The LJP is fighting the ballot box on its own. The BJP is seen supporting them in some sectors to push the JD (U) down. On the ground, is it a problem that the party cadres do not work together?
Except for a few years, the BJP-JD (U) alliance has existed since 1996. Staff, leaders and workers know each other very well. Be it the Prime Minister, or Amit Shah (Union Minister of the Interior), or the chairman of the BJP party (JP Nadda), they have all said that Nitish Kumar will lead the election campaign. The seating arrangements are now complete and VIP (Vikassheel Insaan Party) and HAM (Hindustani Awam Morcha, led by former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi) are our allies. The people of Bihar will give a decisive mandate… The opposition is not serious.
What about (RJD leader) Tejashwi Yadav?
He was not there during the floods or when there was an illness (acute encephalitis syndrome outbreak in 2019) in Muzaffarpur. When the state faces major problems, he is never there. That one of the brothers (Tej Pratap Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s eldest son) had to change districts shows that even his main vote is changing.
Is the LJP action bothering the JD (U)? In which direction are Paswan’s votes going?
I don’t want to talk about caste. But I think that people in Bihar vote one way. Even in 2010 (Assembly polls), we (the JD (U) and the BJP) fought together in the elections and won 206 seats out of 243. That result is a matter of record.
So, do you think the NDA’s lead in this election is so wide that it overshadows the anti-incumbent factor and the economic distress facing the state?
CM Kumar has made people’s expectations skyrocket, which in a way is very good. He promised 7 Nischay in 2015. He promised to electrify all homes. Has it happened or not? He promised running water to every home. While 83 percent (of the work) has been completed, the rest were delayed due to Covid-19. Another month and that too will happen. If Kumar has kept what he promised, people will be able to see it. I can say that people’s trust in Nitish Kumar is intact.
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