KISHANGANJ: The strained relations between Congress and Janata Dal (United) became obvious shortly after Congress president Sonia Gandhi laid the foundation stone of the Kishanganj unit of the Aligarh Muslim University on Thursday.
After the embarrassment of a delayed invitation to the event, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar lashed out at the Congress-led UPA government for not being transparent about the establishment of AMU’s Kishanganj unit, accusing the party of organizing the ceremony at Chakla on January 30 in unseemly haste.
Speaking to reporters minutes after Sonia left the venue, Kumar described the financial aid of Rs 137 crore for its infrastructure at Chakla as a “drop in the ocean”.
“When our government decided to build a farm college at Arrabari Kishanganj, it gave Rs 992 crore. It was only a farm college, but here it’s a question of a university,” Kumar said. Claiming it was his government’s idea to give educationally backward Kishanganj – which has 67% Muslim population – a university, he suggested the UPA government was trying to claim credit for it.
“Our government not only transferred a 224-acre plot at Chakla at former AMU VC Abul Azis’s request, but also handed over two minority hostel buildings to it so that the academic sessions could begin immediately,” Kumar said, adding that AMU authorities, who had assured his government about opening a school as well, appear to have reneged.
Describing the turn of events, Kumar said, “Suddenly on January 28, there came a series of letters and communications from the Centre as well as AMU authorities about the January 30 ceremony,” suggesting he was in the dark about it until two or three days ago. He refused comment when asked if he thought it was politically motivated in view of 2014 general elections.
Earlier, sounding the poll bugle, Sonia reminded the people about the importance of January 30 as Martyr’s Day, the day Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by communal forces.
Attacking the “divisive forces” without naming them, Sonia said, “We ask you to join hands in defeating their nefarious designs.” The crowd cheered lustily every time she criticized the “communal forces”.
“The Congress has been out of power for a long time in Bihar, but we have never compromised on our secular credentials and ideologies,” she said, adding her party has always fought for inclusive growth. She then said the UPA government had brought the Right to Information Act that galvanized the country into combating corruption.
Talking about a slew of poverty reducing measures like MNREGA and Food Security Act, she claimed the schemes would feed at least 80 crore urban and rural poor.
On AMU in Kishanganj, she said, “This will revolutionize the basic structure of education in this educationally and economically backward region.” She complimented local Congress leaders for the AMU unit.
Among others who addressed the rally were Union HRD minister M Pallam Raju, state Congress chief Ashok Choudhary, former state party chief Sadanand Singh and Kishanganj Congress MP Asrarul Haq.
