Bihar CM faces flak over ‘mango politics’

Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has landed himself into a fresh controversy by distributing mangoes and mango saplings to MLAs and MLCs, inside the state Assembly on Wednesday.

The mangoes and saplings were handed over to legislators during the debate on the agriculture budget in the state Assembly.

Defending the move, agriculture minister Prem Kumar said that “this should be seen as the state government’s effort to save the environment. The distribution of Digha- Maldah mango saplings would also encourage its plantation across the state”. The Opposition parties, however, criticized the move and said that “the act shows state government’s indifference towards children, who have lost their lives due to encephalitis and brain fever in past one month”.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and the state health department have been under fire over the rising death toll in the state due to encephalitis outbreak. Muzaffarpur, where around 137 children died since June 1, has been declared as the worst hit district by the health department.

The RJD and Congress have been raising questions over the inadequate infrastructure and lack of medical professionals in the state government-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) Muzaffarpur, where most of the children lost their lives.

On Tuesday, the Nitish Kumar government in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, had admitted that the state lacked basic infrastructure to treat patients.