Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said the state’s fourth agricultural road map, to be released shortly, would substantially enhance the farmers’ income in Bihar.
Addressing the farmers’ convention at Bapu Sabhagar auditorium in Patna to seek their expectations from the upcoming road map (2023-28), Kumar said he would request President Droupadi Murmu to release it.
The third agricultural road map (2017-22) was released by then president Ram Nath Kovind.
“Usually President of India has been unveiling it (agricultural roadmaps) for the farmers,” said Kumar.
Claiming that the road maps have yielded outstanding results, the CM said that production of crops like maize, paddy, wheat, etc, has increased substantially over the years. “The foundation laid by the previous road maps would help farmers enhance their income,” he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav alleged that the agricultural income of the state would have increased substantially had the Central government cooperated with Bihar. “Our requests for release of our due share of fund is being ignored continuously by the Centre,” said Yadav.
Agriculture advisor to the CM, Mangla Rai, said that the draft agricultural road map for 2023-28 was in the final stages and his team would submit it to the government by March-end.
Use of English words irks CM
At the event, the CM got irked by the frequent use of English terminology by a farmer during his address from the stage. While praising the CM for his vision for agriculture, a delegate from Lakhisarai, Amit Kumar, a management graduate, said he had left his promising career in Pune to take up cultivation of mushrooms in his native village.
However, the CM lost his cool as the agri entrepreneur began using English words in his address and reprimanded him to realise it was not England. “You are working in Bihar, practising agriculture, which is the profession of the common folk,” said Kumar, evoking an applause from the crowd.
Citing the legacy of socialist Ram Manohar Lohia, who championed the cause of vernacular languages as a tool for removing social disparities, the CM said that the smartphone addiction during the Covid pandemic made people forget their own languages.
An embarrassed farmer resumed the speech after the break, only to be stopped once again by the CM after the farmers mentioned “government schemes”. “What is this? Can you not say sarkaari yojana? I am an engineer by training and my medium of instruction was English. But it is another thing to use the language for academic pursuits. Why must you do so in day-to-day life?” he said.
Ridiculing the CM’s reaction on reference of English words by a farmer, BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand said, “Is CM Nitish Kumar annoyed with English language itself or with its usage by the subalterns? His objection to the use of English words in a public address is absolutely ridiculous.”
