RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar (File Photo)
Hyderabad fire: Tributes for Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Ram Manohar Lohia; wishes on the occasion of Bihar Diwas (March 22) - these were the first three tweets on the official Twitter handle of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar till 1 PM, March 23, 2022. The CM office's last tweet was for Bihar Diwas 23 hours ago.
Nearly 12 hours after a massive fire tragedy at a scrap godown in Hyderabad killed 11 people, all hailing from Bihar, the Nitish government appeared to be in a slumber. Not only CM Nitish Kumar, there was no word from the leader of Opposition in Bihar assembly Tejashwi Yadav, who otherwise leaves no stones unturned to target the CM and the JDU-BJP government headed by him.
PM Modi, Telangana CM announce relief
Expressing grief over the tragedy, PM Modi announced a relief of Rs 2 lakh for the family of those killed. "Pained by the loss of lives due to a tragic fire in Bhoiguda, Hyderabad. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of the deceased," a tweet from Prime Minister's Office stated.
On the other hand, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed grief over the incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the families of each of the deceased. He asked Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to make arrangements to send the bodies to their native places in Bihar.
Questions over Bihar leadership
While PM Modi, Telangana CM were quick to respond, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's lackadaisical approach speaks for itself. The chief minister may continue to pat his own back over the debatable liquor policy, the fact is he has failed big time in bringing on the change that people of Bihar are waiting for since 2005, when Nitish Kumar took over the CM's chair for the first time. Education, health, basic infrastructure continue to lie in shambles in the state, that ranks on top of list of poorest states in India (as per NITI Aayog's Multidimensional Poverty Index - 2021).
Nitish's 'sushasan' (good governance) era is proving to be no different from the 15-year 'jugle raj' (lawlessness) of Lalu-Rabri rule in Bihar, which is often described as the darkest time in the state when crime was normalised.
Assembly elections are due in Bihar in 2025, hope the state's leadership put its 'snooze' button to rest as early as possible.
