Sonia plays minority card in Bihar, attacks Nitish Kumar

Gandhi, who also stressed on the state government not utilising central funds for development, said at an election rally in Kishanganj: 'We have lost elections but never discarded secularism. The Congress has never joined hands with non-secular party to gain power.'

Hoping to attract the votes of the Muslim community, which constitutes over 67 percent of the population in Kishanganj, about 350 km from here, she said the Congress was committed to secularism.

Attacking the alliance government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) in the state, she said Nitish Kumar claimed he was a secularist but was running a government with a party opposed to secularism.

Gandhi reminded the people of Kishanganj that Nitish Kumar, who now opposed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's poll campaigning in Bihar, had neither resigned nor condemned the BJP leader when Gujarat was aflame with riots. He continued as union minister in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

'It is enough to show that Nitish Kumar's stand against Modi now is nothing but a double standard,' she said.

'Yeh janta ke aankh mein dhool jhonkne ke alawa kya hai? (What is this but not deceiving the people),' Gandhi asked.

According to the Congress chief, who is on a daylong campaign for her party before the first phase of the elections begins Oct 21, New Delhi had provided crores of rupees for the development of Bihar but it had not percolated down to the poor.

'It is a sad thing that the Bihar government failed to spend and utilise the funds provided by the central government for development of the state.'

'In Kishanganj itself, the central government provided huge funds as per welfare schemes to be implemented in a region with minority population but major part of it was neither spent nor utilised. It appears the Bihar government has no time to spend money on the welfare of Muslims,' Gandhi said.

Citing another example, she said the state government had failed to set up a centre of the Aligarh Muslim University in Kishanganj. 'The state government has failed to provide land for it.'

She appealed to the voters to give the Congress a chance after two decades of non-Congress rule.

Kishanganj comprises the four assembly constituencies of Kishanganj, Kochadhaman, Bahadurgarh and Thakurgarh. The Congress, which is contesting all 243 seats on its own, has put up Muslim candidates in all the four constituencies.

The six-phase elections in Bihar begin Oct 21 and end Nov 20.

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Congress dont have any agenda in bihar, because they ruled state 58 Years(Direct and with Laloo), and did nothing, so they cannot claim for the development, that is whay sonia is playing minority card to create communal tension in Bihar, but it seems he has not learned anything from Gujrat, there also she tried her best to communalise the election, but people voted for Modi, on basis of development, and now sonia is going to get same way in bihar as she has got in gujrat many times. Now people need development on ground, not like congress has done since independence.

Congress shoulnot forget that during their regime only the Bhagalpur riot took place and the NDA govt has booked those culprits nad rehabilitated the affected families. So, congress has used enough the sentiments of people, and now people want development and pride.

Pankaj Kumar
Bhagalpur, Bihar

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Yeah Congress is committed to secularism and never joins hands with the non-secular forces, but it loves the corrupts and nurtures the maggots who are committed to destroy the society at large. It supports the vampires who gobble up public money shamelessly. Be it within its own ranks or other Corrupt parties, the hand of Congress is always there with them.
The non-secular's are better than your "secular" party, at least they think for the benefit of a section of society. They are not two faced like you, who scream "Secularism", "Secularism" from the top of their voice and then show their real colors by beheading the hapless Sikhs in a blink of an eye.

Shame on you Congress..

Abhimanyu Singh
Hyderabad

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Sonia plays minority card, what else is new. Rajeev gandhi played muslim card through shahbano and hindu card through unlocking of ram temple.These events happened much before any BJP or VHP took cudgels on behalf of Hindus..
Leopards don't change their spots that fast. Socalled secualr parties are most communal in India .
Congress party directly till 1990 and indirectly 1990-2005 has ruled Bihar and yet minority majority alike are in deep abyss. For the first time some poistive intent and signs are visible. So why should people of Bihar not give benefit of doubt to the incumbent and instead bring back the oldies who brought Bihar to this sorry state in the first place.

anil kanhaiya