Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said the state's growth rate is the highest in the country and has become a cause of jealousy for some people.
Enlisting the development work done by his government, Nitish said the NDA government established the rule of law in the state and therefore Bihar ranks 23rd in crime cases in the country.
Taking a swipe at his rivals for questioning development in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar mockingly said how come people habituated to indulging in corrupt practices and guided only by interest of their family see growth in the state.
Kumar's barb was apparently directed at opponent RJD whose top leaders are questioning "is development visible anywhere in the state?"
"While people having positive mindset can see development around them, those habituated to practicing corruption can't see it because there is no scope of 'gadbadi' (irregularity) in the developmental works now," Kumar said while taking an oblique dig at Lalu Prasad headed RJD top leaders.
Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav, who has been accepted by the constituents of the Grand Alliance that include Congress as their chief ministerial candidate, has been questioning claims of development in Bihar under Kumar's 15 years rule.
The debate on development in Bihar between political rivals is part of the "15 years vs 15 years" narrative in the present elections.
Kumar was addressing second virtual rally during the day for the constituencies going to vote in the first phase on October 28.
He had spoken at a similar digital rally in the morning.
Kumar, who also heads the ruling JD(U), kicked off election campaign Monday. He said from Wednesday he would start election tour of different constituencies.