"I addressed some basic problems, improved the law and order situation, and establish the rule of law. I especially focused on establishing rule of law, without which you cannot prosper," said Nitish Kumar, referring to the worst-ever law and order situation in the north Indian state during the 15-year rule of former chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.[break]
For Kumar, now 60, eliminating state-protected criminality and establishing social harmony laid the foundation for prosperity in Bihar.
Bihar has seen spectacular economic growth of over 12 percent over the last five years, growth partly propelled by massive public spending on infrastructure development; the crime rate has gone down drastically; and the state government is currently focusing on welfare programs.
"Then we did two things: human resource development and infrastructure development. And you see the changing face of Bihar," a smiling Kumar told journalists who had reached the state capital Patna to cover the three-day Global Summit on Changing Bihar, that was inaugurated by Nepal´s Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on Friday.
The summit was organized partly to spread the positive changes taking places in Bihar across the globe, share its experience with others and break its past stereotype.
"Bihar had a bad name and bad publicity. Now people are interested in Bihar and they are coming from the backward regions of the world to learn from Bihar," said a proud Nitish Kumar who was seen in his usual uncreased tunic and sleeveless jacket.
But Lalu Prasad Yadav looks offended by Kumar´s claim, and says the latter is telling blatant lies to the world. Upon their arrival at his residence at Circular Road, he asked the journalists if they had come for the "so-called Global Summit."
When the latter nodded, he said: "We used to have lots of such summits in the past. He [Nitish] speaks far more than what he does in practice. He has bribed the media, giving them advertisements worth millions of rupees for the sake of his own publicity in a positive light," Yadav claimed in his typical Hindi.
Seated relaxed in a chair inside the bungalow given to his wife Rawri Devi, who ruled Bihar after Yadav quit over the infamous fodder scam, a shabbily dressed Lalu rather made fun of Kumar.
Why then was his party Rastriya Janata Dal defeated by Nitish´s Janata Dal (United) by a huge margin in the last state assembly elections? He quipped: "He learnt the ways of politics from me. I trained him," generating peals of laughter among those present.
It may be recalled that Nitish was aligned with Lalu for years before they parted ways and the Janata Dal (United) came into existence in 2003.
The Bihar boom, according to Yadav, is linked with the overall economic growth of India. "In the old days, Bihar was discriminated against by the center, and so we remained poor. After I ascended to power in 1990, I worked hard and ended the center´s discriminatory policy. So Nitish had nothing to do with the growth. I had laid the foundations for all that," he claimed.
He also claimed that most of the construction work the journalists had seen were initiated during his rule. "In fact, you are from a foreign country and I don´t want to reveal much."
The former chief minister, who is often termed a "cartoon character"and is made fun of all over India, distributed laddu (sweets) and expressed his wish to visit Nepal before bidding the journalists farewell.
"I met your president [Ram Baran Yadav] and we talked about my visit. I will come to your country in four or five months," said Lalu.
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