PM Narendra Modi shares stage with Nitish Kumar, assures autonomy and Rs 10,000 crore for 20 leading universities

Patna/Mokama: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday shared the stage with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the first time after the JD(U) returned to the NDA fold.

While sharing a public platform with Kumar, the Prime Minister said he and the Bihar Chief Minister would take the state to new heights of development even as he announced that infrastructure projects of Rs 53,000 crore were underway or completed in the state.

Addressing a rally at Mokama, Modi heaped praise on Nitish Kumar and said the central and state governments were working tirelessly to fulfil the dreams of people of Bihar.

Modi referred to Kumar`s demands for development of Mokama and said he respected sentiments of the Chief Minister. "I assure you that the central government will walk with you shoulder to shoulder to fulfil dreams of people of Bihar and take this journey of development to new heights," he said.

Modi laid the foundation stone for four sewerage projects under the Namami Gange programme and four national highway projects and said the state was getting gifts worth Rs 3,700 coinciding with festivals of Diwali and Chhath.

The four sewerage projects include Sewage Treatment Plant at Beur, Sewerage System with Sewer Network at Beur, Sewage Treatment Plant at Karmalichak and STP and Sewer Network at Saidpur. These projects together will create new STP capacity of 120 MLD and upgrade the existing 20 MLD for Beur.

Addressing a large public meeting, the Prime Minister said that he is delighted to come to a land closely associated with the great poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar Ji. He assured everyone that the Union Government and the State Government will do everything possible for Bihar's growth.

The Prime Minister said that the Government is working tirelessly to fulfil the aspirations of the people. He said the projects whose foundation stones are being laid today will give impetus to Bihar's development.

He added that the Government is focussing on increased pace of road construction. The projects related to Namami Gange will help preserve the River Ganga, he said.

Referring to the recent launch of the Antyodaya expresses, he said these will improve connectivity between Bihar, eastern India and other parts of the country. Asserting that good connectivity will lead to greater development, the Prime Minister said stress is being given to roads, railways, and waterways.

Modi, who arrived in Patna on a day-long visit, earlier addressed centenary celebrations of Patna University and said the government will provide autonomy and Rs 10,000 crore to top 10 public and 10 private universities to make them world-class.

"I bow to this land of Bihar. This University has nurtured students who have contributed greatly to the nation," the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister said that he had observed, that across states, the top levels of the civil services have people who have studied in Patna University. "In Delhi, I interact with so many officials, many of whom belong to Bihar," PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister said that Bihar is blessed with both 'Gyaan' and 'Ganga.' This land has a legacy that is unique, he added. He said that from conventional teaching, our universities need to move towards innovative learning.

PM Modi said that in the era of globalisation, we need to understand the changing trends across the world and the increased spirit of competitiveness. In that context, India has to make its place in the world, he added.

He urged the students to think about innovative solutions to the problems faced by people. He said that by applying what they learn, and through the Start-Up sector, there is a lot that they can do for society.

Kumar, who also spoke at the varsity function, said people of the state were keen that Patna University is made a central university. Modi, however, responded by saying that he was going beyond the demand and was keen that the Patna varsity competes successfully in the challenge for 10 public universities and becomes a global-level institution.

In his speech at Mokama, Modi said he was grateful from his heart to Kumar and his team for their strong support to central schemes. "If there are difficulties, he strives to remove them. The state and central government are working shoulder to shoulder and doing everything possible to fulfil the dreams of Bihar and the results are visible," Modi said.

Referring to the long list of road projects mentioned by Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in his speech, Modi said, "So many projects to change the fate of Bihar can be implemented in such a short time, we have shown this."

Nitish Kumar had joined again with the BJP in July after falling out with the party ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls over its projection of Modi as the prime ministerial candidate. The fallout happened after the JD-U and BJP had been together in the NDA for almost 17 years.

Without taking names, Modi said there had been people with "demented mindset" who even talked against the need of roads as there were no vehicles to run on them. He said roads bring prosperity and development.

Meanwhile, RJD president Lalu Prasad said PM Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar were fooling the people of Bihar by not according central status to the Patna University (PU).

"Both of them (Modi as well as Kumar) are making fools of people of Bihar. They must have decided beforehand that one will propose and another would dispose it (proposal for central status to PU)," Prasad told reporters at Patna's Jay Prakash Narayan Airport on his arrival from New Delhi.

(With IANS inputs)