Saturday, May 25th 06:46 PM IST
 

Nitish Kumar's 'Bihar Model' is worth following

Akshaya Mishra

Why are we so reluctant to give Nitish Kumar his due? Here’s a man who has delivered a consistent 12 percent growth over the last five years. He has revived a state in a state of collapse and made it count among the best governed in the country. Better still, his growth is inclusive, sensitive to all sections of the society. His success story is not flawless, but do we have any other success story in the country which is not flawless, including that of Gujarat? The worshippers of high GDP numbers should be applauding him. What we find instead is vehement criticism for him from this section. Clearly, something is amiss.read less read more

R Jagannathan

The so-called “inclusivist” element in the UPA or Bihar model is really a socio-political arrangement, where the benefits of growth are supposed to be shared through quotas and other such devices,, even though they may be socially and politically divisive. Can a development model work if it is only based on handouts from the Centre? And, even assuming some grants help alleviate poverty, what is special status really about? As things stand, we can only see the politics of the Bihar model, not its economics.read less read more