Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Thursday criticised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for not visiting the North East Express accident site in the Buxar district. Twenty-three coaches of the train, on the way to Assam from Delhi, derailed near Raghunathpur station around 9.53 pm on Wednesday claiming four lives and injuring many.
Mr Kishor, who is in the north Bihar district of Sitamarhi as part of his Jan Suraaj campaign, was of the view that if such an incident had taken place in the US, the president would have met the survivors to enquire about their well-being.
"The failure of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to visit the site speaks volumes about the arrogance of the political class in Bihar," Mr Kishor told reporters when asked about the accident that took place in his home district of Buxar.
"Be it Nitish Kumar or his ally Lalu Prasad, they are smug in their belief that people will vote for them because of caste and religious considerations. Hence, they feel no need to express solidarity with the people in times of crisis," alleged the IPAC founder, who had worked for the two leaders in a professional capacity in the 2015 assembly polls.
He also said, "The charge that bureaucracy is running the government in Bihar gets proved when all the CM has to say is that he has directed officials concerned to disburse relief and ex gratia".
"Compare the scenario with a developed country like the US. Had such an accident taken place in any part of America, the president himself would have been at the spot, assuring the people that the administration was there to serve them," said Mr Kishor.
Mr Kishor, who first shot into fame by handling Narendra Modi's successful Lok Sabha campaign of 2014, later became a member of Nitish Kumar's JD(U) but was sacked following differences over the CAA-NPR-NRC controversy.
Taking potshots at his former mentor, Mr Kishor said, "The reason why Nitish Kumar is taking people for granted is that he feels Fevicol has been applied to his chair. No matter which political formation the people vote for in the elections, he will become the chief minister. It is for the people of Bihar to show him that he is wrong".
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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