Even as PM campaigns in Bihar, WB, Congress raises issues like Agnipath, MGNREGA, river erosion

New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) Will the prime minister continue with the Agnipath scheme, why did his government throttle MGNREGA in Bihar and why did he not do anything to prevent river erosion in West Bengal's Malda, the Congress asked on Friday as Narendra Modi campaigned in the two neighbouring states.

Posting a series of questions on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also raised the issues of unfinished airport and cattle smuggling in Malda as the prime minister addressed poll rallies in the West Bengal district and in Bihar's Munger on Friday.

"Questions for the PM as he heads to Bihar: Is Nitish Kumar preparing for a palti? Or is the PM distancing himself from Bihar’s caste census? Does the Prime Minister want to continue with his ill-advised Agnipath scheme? Why has the Modi Sarkar throttled the MGNREGA in Bihar," he asked in a post on X.

"Questions for PM as he visits Malda in West Bengal: Why has the PM done nothing to prevent river erosion in Malda? What about Malda airport? What has the PM done to halt the illegal smuggling of cattle," Ramesh asked in another post.

He said thousands of families in Malda district suffer due to their land being eroded by the Ganga and Fulahar rivers.

BJP MLA from Englishbazar town Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhary had written to the prime minister in 2023 to seek an appointment to apprise him about the problem, he said. She highlighted the fact that affected residents are mostly from the Scheduled Castes or Other Backward Classes, and requested Rs 10,000 crore to conduct anti-erosion works, Ramesh added.

Most of the district lies in the region of the Farakka Barrage, operated by the Central government and is, therefore, the responsibility of the "Modi Sarkar", he said.

"Ten years after coming to power, and despite generous on-paper allocations to Namami Gange, why has the Modi Sarkar not made a single intervention to protect Malda's Scheduled Caste and OBC families from the rampant problem of river erosion," he asked.

Ramesh also alleged that the Modi government had neglected the Malda airport for almost 10 years.

"The state government had already built a runway by the time the PM came to power in 2014. However, flight services are yet to start. Airports would increase business and trade opportunities - especially for perishable goods like Malda's famous mangoes - and improve access to medical services in the district," he said.

The BJP had assured the people of Malda that they would provide small aircraft services, and Airports Authority of India officials visited the site multiple times but the airport still remains closed, Ramesh claimed.

The runway, he contended, is being used by people from surrounding neighbourhoods for their morning walks. Locals fear the airport will eventually fall into disrepair because of the Modi government's apathy, he said.

"What has the Prime Minister done in the last ten years to halt the illegal smuggling of cattle into Bangladesh," Ramesh said using the hashtag "#ChuppiTodoPradhanMantriji".

Noting that cattle smuggling across the Bangladesh border has emerged as a key issue in recent years, one often raked up by the PM himself, the Congress general secretary alleged that Modi fails to mention that cattle smuggling is only a reality because of the failure of the BJP administrations at the Centre and various states.

"At the national level, the BSF and the Customs Department are responsible for aiding and abetting the smuggling mafia. At the state level, the origin of most of the cattle is BJP-ruled states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. State police and administration turning a blind eye to smuggling of cattle out of these states is the root cause of the issue," he claimed.

In his post on the PM's campaign in Bihar, Ramesh said the BJP’s "new-old" ally Nitish Kumar was not present during Modi's rally at Araria and also gave a miss to the PM’s rallies on April 16 in Gaya and Purnia.

When Nitish Kumar’s government, on the insistence of the Congress and RJD, released Bihar’s caste census in October last year, PM Modi accused him of "dividing the country in the name of caste", he said.

"Is the PM shying away from his coalition’s Bihar Chief Minister to avoid associating himself with the caste census? Or is Nitish Kumar preparing for another palti," Ramesh asked.

"The Modi Sarkar has repeatedly betrayed Bihar’s youth. The youth have consistently voiced their opposition to Modi Sarkar’s ill-conceived Agnipath Scheme. Even if we ignore the unrealistic expectation of preparing young soldiers for battle within 6 months, how can we ignore the scheme’s impact on their long-term job prospects? Where will young recruits go after spending four years of their prime in the army," he asked.

"In a country that has been rocked by rampant unemployment under the BJP’s mismanagement of the economy, what options do the youth have," he claimed.

"Does the PM stand by his Government’s flagship Agnipath programme despite the popular protests against it," Ramesh asked.

He said in a state that faces such high levels of youth unemployment and rural distress, the MGNREGA is a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of families, adding that yet, this crucial scheme falters whenever the BJP is in power in Bihar.

"The Modi Sarkar is legally bound to guarantee 100 days of work and timely payment to MGNREGA beneficiaries. Are these states of affairs an indication of what ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ really looks like," he asked. PTI