Slamming the JD(U) for pushing Bihar into "political instability" by severing alliance with the BJP last year, the former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi today said that the ruling party's unilateral decision has cost the state dearly as it has slumped several notches on indices of development in a matter of 18 months.
Development has been the biggest casualty in Bihar since the JD(U) terminated alliance with the BJP last year with the state slipping down by at least ten notches on various indices, he said in a statement.
Eye catching slogans like integrated development and good governance has become passe at a time when Bihar finds itself gripped by political instability with the JD(U) compelled to indulge in manipulation to ensure survival of its government by conveniently taking away focus from governance matters, the BJP leader said.
Quoting extensively from a media report compiled by two leading economists to rank top 20 states on different indices of development, Modi, a senior BJP leader in Bihar, said that Bihar has been ranked at 20th position on the basis of its performance on various indices in 2013-14 as against corresponding ranking of eleventh when his party was integral part of the erstwhile NDA government.
Bihar regrettably figures between 16th and 20th position of indices like agriculture, infrastructure, economy, investment, health, education, governance and consumer market, etc, as per the data compiled for 2013-14, he said.
The other indices like production of foodgrain, student-teacher ratio in schools, per capita expenditure and debt, child mortality rate, per capita deposit in banks, irrigable farmland, etc, also figured during ranking of the states, Modi, who held the post of deputy chief minister and finance minister in the erstwhile NDA government for eight years, said.
