 "Nitish returns Modi barbs")
Contesting allegations by BJP leader Narendra Modi that his arrogance was higher than Mount Everest, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said he was from a "poor family" and only had self-respect.
"We all have respect for Mt Everest which is the highest peak of Himalaya ... But it cannot be a scale to measure arrogance ... Born in a poor family I only have self respect and no arrogance," Kumar told a press conference here.
ALSO READ: Modi fooling voters: Nitish
"The style of talking and body posture shows who is arrogant ... Everybody knows that actually arrogance is dropping from every inch of his body," Kumar said two days after Narendra Modi attacked him at a rally in Purnea.
The BJP's prime ministerial candidate had alleged that the JD(U) leader's "arrogance" and "ambition" to become prime minister had driven him to split from the BJP.
ALSO READ: Nitish's arrogance higher than Mt Everest: Modi
Stating that he wanted to put the record straight, Kumar said he wanted to respond to "lies" by Modi yesterday, but was busy with induction of a woman minister into the cabinet after the resignation of Renu Kushwaha.
Kumar reeled out figures to highlight the "truth" about development in Gujarat which, he said, BJP was "trumpeting" across the country.
He laughed at figures given by Narendra Modi from the Sachar committee report to compare the socio-economic condition of Muslims in Bihar and in Gujarat.
ALSO READ: Modi: Nitish's PM dream led to severing of ties
Kumar said that these figures pertained to financial year 2004-05 and were based on 2001 census before he assumed power in the state (in November 2005). He said a comparison between a backward and landlocked state like Bihar with a developed coastal state of Gujarat was 'unjustifiable'.
Giving statistics, Kumar said that in 2011-12 per capita income in Bihar was Rs 22,890 which was Rs 90,000 in Gujarat but this four-fold hike was not reflected in the statistics of human development index.
In 2008-9 to 2012-13, the growth rate of income in Bihar was 11.5% and in Gujarat 9.1%, Kumar said. From 2004-05 to 2011-12 the poverty ratio in Bihar decreased by 20.7% and in Gujarat by 15%. In 2001-11 the literacy rate in Bihar grew by 16.8% and in Gujarat by 10%.
He said in Gujarat the dropout rates in schools was unacceptably high at 58% compared to the national average of 49%.
He said that Dalit enrolment in Gujarat dropped by 27% compared to a national increase of 1% while tribal enrolment inched up by 5% compared to national hike of 9%. "Why such a situation in a developed state?" he asked.
"We all have respect for Mt Everest which is the highest peak of Himalaya ... But it cannot be a scale to measure arrogance ... Born in a poor family I only have self respect and no arrogance," Kumar told a press conference here.
ALSO READ: Modi fooling voters: Nitish
"The style of talking and body posture shows who is arrogant ... Everybody knows that actually arrogance is dropping from every inch of his body," Kumar said two days after Narendra Modi attacked him at a rally in Purnea.
The BJP's prime ministerial candidate had alleged that the JD(U) leader's "arrogance" and "ambition" to become prime minister had driven him to split from the BJP.
ALSO READ: Nitish's arrogance higher than Mt Everest: Modi
Stating that he wanted to put the record straight, Kumar said he wanted to respond to "lies" by Modi yesterday, but was busy with induction of a woman minister into the cabinet after the resignation of Renu Kushwaha.
Kumar reeled out figures to highlight the "truth" about development in Gujarat which, he said, BJP was "trumpeting" across the country.
He laughed at figures given by Narendra Modi from the Sachar committee report to compare the socio-economic condition of Muslims in Bihar and in Gujarat.
ALSO READ: Modi: Nitish's PM dream led to severing of ties
Kumar said that these figures pertained to financial year 2004-05 and were based on 2001 census before he assumed power in the state (in November 2005). He said a comparison between a backward and landlocked state like Bihar with a developed coastal state of Gujarat was 'unjustifiable'.
Giving statistics, Kumar said that in 2011-12 per capita income in Bihar was Rs 22,890 which was Rs 90,000 in Gujarat but this four-fold hike was not reflected in the statistics of human development index.
In 2008-9 to 2012-13, the growth rate of income in Bihar was 11.5% and in Gujarat 9.1%, Kumar said. From 2004-05 to 2011-12 the poverty ratio in Bihar decreased by 20.7% and in Gujarat by 15%. In 2001-11 the literacy rate in Bihar grew by 16.8% and in Gujarat by 10%.
He said in Gujarat the dropout rates in schools was unacceptably high at 58% compared to the national average of 49%.
He said that Dalit enrolment in Gujarat dropped by 27% compared to a national increase of 1% while tribal enrolment inched up by 5% compared to national hike of 9%. "Why such a situation in a developed state?" he asked.