Nitish Kumar's bicycles versus Lalu Prasad's buses for schoolgirls

Patna: One of Nitish Kumar's big success stories has been his scheme to deliver a bicycle to every schoolgirl from the fifth standard to the tenth standard. The scheme has helped check the dropout rate for girls, reducing it from 70% in 2007 to 20% in 2011.

That's inspired Mr Kumar's rival and predecessor in government to think different. So Lalu Prasad Yadav has said that he will buy buses to ferry school girls in his constituency of Chhapra to school.

Each MP is given two crores every year to develop his or her constituency. For the last few years, Mr Yadav has not spent any part of his fund and has 15 crores now at his disposal. He says some of the money will be used to buy nearly 60 buses at a cost of Rs 13 lakh each. His supporters say thanks to Mr Yadav, school girls will no longer have to cycle to school.

That's all very well, retorted the chief minister, but he wants to know how Mr Yadav is planning to pay for bus drivers' salaries and for fuel.