ISLAMABAD, Nov 13: The Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, on Tuesday called upon India and Pakistan to find solution to contentious issues including Kashmir through dialogue.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion, organised by the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS), he said dialogue was the only way to improve India-Pakistan relations, and the two countries should actively pursue this process.
“There is a need not only to improve relations between the two governments, but also between the peoples of the two countries,” he said.
Mr Nitish Kumar is visiting Pakistan with a twelve-member delegation spoke about the ‘Growth Story of Bihar’ and said that he believed that state was a necessary precondition not only to ensure law and order but to ensure development of the people.
The participants were informed by the Director General, ISS, Jehangir Ashraf Qazi about the economic transformation in Bihar initiated by Mr Nitish Kumar.
“He has done a fabulous job in Bihar as Chief Minister and brought a revolution in the state of which only few people can think of,” he said.
Bihar, which used to be the one of the poorest states in India marred by low literacy rate poor law and order conditions and continuous political strive, has made a turnaround under the leadership of simple, soft spoken Kumar, who is an electrical engineer.
Mr Qazi said Bihar was currently a fastest growing economy in India.
In his speech the Bihar CM said that he believed that resurrection and building of the state was the ultimate necessity to provide justice to the people.
“Our story – the story of Bihar is the story of power of democracy and state building,” he said adding: “When I came to power in Bihar my first priority was good governance with a vision for development with justice”.
He said after winning the people’s mandate he focused on law and order, improving public infrastructure and empowering the marginalised sections of the society.
“The overall financial, administrative and technological apparatus has been overhauled in merely four years, as a result Bihar won the award for e-governance all over India,” he added.
He said Bihar had achieved the highest GDP growth rate in the last few years and the per capita income of the state had increased four times despite recurrent natural disasters.
“Bihar today is now expanding and fast integrating with the national market and beyond,” and added, “However, the most promising story of Bihar is that the growth is inclusive, and the weakest sections of society and social harmony are part of this growth.”
He said that his state was still facing many challenges. “We believe in social harmony and inclusiveness for which Bihar stands today,” Mr Kumar added.
“People in the first tenure do not have much expectations, but in the second term they feel that they should invest and now they have aspirations to do something for their state,” he said.