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Advani hopes post-election scenario will give new direction to Bihar

Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani on Monday hoped the Bihar assembly election would not only change the state's political leadership, but also its direction.

Talking to newsmen in Patna, Advani stated that during the last two Lok Sabha elections from the eastern state, the people had rejected the ''corruption and nepotism'' indulged in by the Rashtriya Janata Dal president Laloo Prasad Yadav's ''dynasty'' and the ''loot under the veneer of social justice.''

The assembly election would hit the last nail on the coffin of the ''corrupt'' RJD regime in the state and usher in a new era of peace, progress and prosperity. A new direction was essential for the state, which was now wilting under ''misrule and corruption,'' he said.

He said the NDA was committed to providing the state and its people a better deal.

The home minister said his ministry was maintaining contact with the Election Commission for making available central paramilitary forces for ensuring a free and peaceful assembly election in the state.

The ministry was committed to the commission, which would monitor the state's requirement for holding the three-phase polls to the state assembly.

Ruling out any differences among NDA constituents, Advani said, ''There is complete unity among the four constituent partners of the National Democratic Alliance -- Bharatiya Janata Party, Samata Party, Janata Dal-United and Bihar People's Party.''

Advani said the NDA government was committed to creating the Vananchal state to provide a fair deal to the people of the state. The NDA was also committed to the state's development, taking into consideration the people's needs and the available human resources.

The RJD chief continued to utter sweet words about social justice, but the massacre in Jehanabad bore ample testimony to what went on in the name of social justice during the dynastic rule in the state, Advani said.

He pointed out that even the Congress, which was the RJD's ally in the last Lok Sabha elections three months ago, had now become wiser and Congressmen were ''reluctant to take his soiled hand.''

The people of the state should play the lead role in the battle against corruption and nepotism, he said, adding that the people should also protest against the loot of public money for the benefit of the ''well-connected few.''

They should also stand against the frightening fall in the standard of education and the healthcare facilities.

He said the people in the state were also tired of ''endless, mindless violence and the rule of the jungle marking Laloo raj in the state.''

UNI

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