Senior BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav attacked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Senior BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav today charged Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with being insensitive to the victims of human tragedies by not visiting them.
Mr Kumar had said that his foot injuries prevented him from visiting Gandaman village where 23 children had died in a mid-day meal tragedy two years ago.
"In the mid-day meal tragedy in Gandaman village, one could have bought Kumar's explanation that he could not go there due to foot injury. But how will he defend attending Assembly sessions during the same period carrying the same pain?" Mr Yadav, the Leader of Opposition, told a press conference.
"You can attend the legislative assembly, but cannot muster courage to go to PMCH to express solidarity with grieving families," said Mr Yadav, who is contesting from Patna Sahib for sixth term as a lawmaker.
Claiming that the chief minister's conduct was an open and shut case of insensitivity towards human tragedies in Bihar during his stint in power, the BJP leader said Mr Kumar would have otherwise visited Patna Medical College and Hospital where nearly 36 children were undergoing treatment for food poisoning in the same MDM tragedy.
Citing other examples, he said the chief minister had not visited Bagaha, Forbesganj and numerous other places where scores of people were killed in police firing or other tragedies.
Hitting out at Mr Kumar for "shedding crocodile tears" on reservation policy, he said that the fact that Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) conducted examinations in eight years in the past 25 years spoke volumes of successive government's commitment to provide jobs to Dalits and backward communities for whom nearly half of jobs are reserved under the quota policy.
Also four lakh jobs of teachers from primary school to colleges were vacant for years, he said, adding had Nitish Kumar government filled those vacancies at least two lakh Dalit and OBC aspirants would have got jobs by now.
On Mr Kumar challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a debate on Bihar-specific issues, Mr Yadav said the chief minister should hold a debate with him as he held a comparable post to him being the leader of opposition.