Congress Hits Out at BJP-JD(U) for 'Ruining Bihar’s Industry’

New Delhi:The Congress on Monday claimed that the BJP-JD(U) in their 20 years of rule in Bihar have only established the “migration industry” and “systematically and deliberately weakened” the state’s tradition of industry. AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh reiterated his party’s resolve to revive and strengthen Bihar’s industry, saying the state needs reconstruction, not migration. “In its 20 years of rule, the BJP-JD(U) has established only the migration industry in Bihar, a state brimming with limitless industrial potential. Bihar has been virtually erased from the national map of development and industry,” Mr Ramesh said in a post on X.

Listing examples in various sectors, Mr Ramesh listed out the number of sectors. “Bihar once had over 33 sugar mills, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the country’s total sugar production. Today, most of them lie shuttered: Sakri, Rayam, Loht, Motipur, Banmankhi, Motihari... Machines were loaded onto trucks and sold as scrap,” Mr Ramesh said.

The Prime Minister promises in every election to restart them, but one sugar mill after another has shut down, he said.

“The jute industry has met the same fate. Rameshwar Jute Mill in Samastipur has been closed since 2017. Bhagalpur’s famed silk industry is gasping. The spun silk factory has been shut for years, with 95 per cent of weaver families drowning in debt and poverty,” he said.

Mr Ramesh also gave the example of Rail Wheel Plant, Bela; Diesel Locomotive Plant, Marhowrah; Nebi Nagar Thermal Project; and Sudha Cooperative Dairy Network.

“The Congress governments laid the industrial foundation in Bihar with vision, while the BJP-JD(U) government hasn’t established a single significant industry; instead, through their corrupt and disorganised policies, they’ve ruined even the existing ones,” Mr Ramesh alleged.