‘Karnataka the new Bihar’

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Firing a salvo at his party counterparts in Karnataka, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi expressed deep concern over the level of corruption in the BJP ruled state and remarked that people of Bihar cannot even imagine the kind of corruption that has happened here.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle on the sidelines of a seminar on “Taxation on Supplies of Gods and Services: issues relating to State Policy, Governance and Welfare” on Friday, Mr Modi said, “I will say that whatever is happening in Karnataka is something unimaginable to us.

However, when Lalu Prasad Yadav was in power earlier, several leaders were implicated in scams and were sent to jail”.

The BJP leader refused to react to a question on former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa’s rebellion against the party. “I have come here as a political leader and a regional leader, I cannot comment on the affairs of the BJP in Karnataka.”

Replying to a question on whether Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will be projected as the next PM candidate of the BJP, the Bihar Deputy CM said “when the time come we will take a decision after taking into consideration the feelings of our alliance partners. No decision will be taken without consulting our partners.

The question of deciding on the PM candidate does not arise till the Lok Sabha elections are due in 2014”, Mr Modi said, adding,” “If the ruling Congress has not decided the next PM, there is no hurry for the BJP to declare its candidate”.

Spelling out measures taken by the Bihar government to check corruption, he said Karnataka can do far better than Bihar with regard to checking corruption by using information technology. “In Bihar, in the last six years there has not been a single corruption charge against any minister. Everything is transparent which is why we have been able to curtail corruption at the top level in the government”, he said.

“All government officials, ministers and MLAs have to declare their assets every year. We have enacted a Special Court Act which provides us powers to confiscate the property of any individual even before he is convicted by the trial court.”

“The Bihar government has booked disproportionate cases against more than 50 percent of officials. We have even come up with a law to confiscate properties of corrupt bureaucrats who are facing trial”, Mr Modi explained.