The Congress party's Ajay Singh laid into Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan for claiming that the state's GDP grew the fastest in the country in 2012-13. The leader of the opposition in the state Assembly said the chief minister was projecting a false picture of prosperity in the state.
The state government, citing estimates released by the Central Statistics Office, had recently said the state gross domestic product grew by 10.02 per cent in 2012-13.
Referring to a recent letter from the Planning Commission to the state, he said Pondicherry was at the top of the list. Singh, however, accepted that the growth figure was correct.
"The chief minister has misled people of the state by spending Rs 50 crore on publicity of figures. He has misused public money in advertising the growth rate only to gain popularity," Singh alleged. He added, "Chauhan had put education and health on top priority, but the Planning Commission letter reveals that on health and education, MP is still an underperformer after Bharatiya Janata Party's nine-year regime."
He said the 66th report of the National Sample Survey did not support the claims made by Chauhan. "He has diverted the funds allocated by the centre for improving school education through the mid-day meal scheme and universalisation of education (the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan). MP has a wide gap between male and female literacy. As many as 1.5 lakh students drop out each year. Moreover, 28,000 thousand teachers are untrained and only 1 per cent graduate among all enrolled students in rural areas. Under the School Chalen Abhiyan, Chauhan and his government have misused funds, since the survey says illiteracy among female of above 15 years is the highest. Where is the money is going?" he asked.
He said the health sector was the worst sufferer. A large number of health centres had no doctors; there is a shortage of 3,000 doctors. "Even basic amenities are absent in rural areas, with 30 per cent of the population having no drinking water. Irrigation facilities are restricted to only 45 per cent of the area, and not 70 per cent as claimed by Mr Chauhan," Singh said.
Dismissing Singh's allegations, Finance minister Raghavji said, "We achieved our tax collection target. We have created more jobs. Our round-the-clock power-supply scheme will create jobs in rural areas. Above all, we are paying Rs 29,000 crore salary bills against Rs 5,700 crore of the previous Congress government. Yet we are in a situation to meet contingencies and genuine demands of the public. From where would this money come, if we had not posted such a handsome growth?"
