NDA will win in Bihar, says MP CM; mocks Rahul over jungle safari, Panchmarhi visit amid polls

Dewas/Indore, Nov 13 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday took a swipe at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, saying that at a time when Bihar was in the midst of assembly polls he was vacationing at popular hill station Pachmarhi in the central state.

He also said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will retain power in the eastern state comfortably.

Polling for Bihar's 243 Assembly constituencies was held in two phases on November 6 and 11. Votes will be counted on Friday. Incidentally, Yadav had campaigned extensively for the BJP there.

Yadav claimed the Congress is hardly present on the ground and that is why it is not in power for 20 years in Madhya Pradesh (barring 15 months in 2018-20) and if things continue as they are, the Grand Old Party will not be able to govern the state for another 50 years.

He alleged the Congress never worked for the welfare of farmers.

"Congress leaders live in their own world. They float in the air and never come to the ground. They feel happy just running social media accounts. That is why they have been out of power in the state for 20 years, and if they continue like this, they will remain out for another 50 years," Yadav said while addressing a function in Dewas.

Taking a swipe at Gandhi, he said that while polls were underway in Bihar, the former Congress president was vacationing at popular hill station Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh.

Gandhi, whose party is a constituent of the Opposition grand alliance in Bihar, visited Pachmarhi in Narmadapuram district on November 9 to address a training camp of district Congress presidents and had also gone on a jungle safari.

In his address, Yadav said, "Congress leaders and their chief (Gandhi) are alike. While elections were on in Bihar, he (Gandhi) was holidaying in Pachmarhi. That is his level of understanding. He says he can turn potatoes into gold." "Bihar mein bahaar hai, phir NDA sarkar hai" (There is greenery in Bihar, NDA government will return, Yadav told reporters.

The NDA in Bihar comprises the Janata Dal (United), Bharatiya Janata Party, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha.

Earlier, the chief minister transferred Rs 233 crore into the bank accounts of 1.33 lakh soybean farmers under the 'Bhavantar' scheme and said the state government was committed to ensuring fair prices for crops.

At a grand event held at the police ground in Dewas, Yadav symbolically pressed a remote button to transfer the funds.

He said Madhya Pradesh's identity as the "soybean state" was built on the hard work of its farmers.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both the Centre and the state are committed to ensuring that farmers get fair prices for their crops. That is why we launched the Bhavantar scheme, the first of its kind in the country," the CM noted.

Under the scheme, the government compensates farmers from its treasury for the difference between the minimum support price (MSP) announced by the Centre and the lower rates offered by traders in mandis (markets).

Targeting the Congress further, Yadav said Opposition leaders could not stomach the benefits being given to farmers and women under Bhavantar and Ladli Behna Yojana, respectively, and were asking irrelevant questions to the BJP government.

During the event, the chief minister also laid foundation stones for development works worth more than Rs 180 crore in Dewas. PTI HWP LAL RSY BNM