Saturday, February 12 2005 14:14 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Katihar (Bihar): Launching a veiled attack on the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) regime for "backwardness and tardy development" in Bihar, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today (Feb 12, 2005) said that her party would accord top priority to improve law and order and accelerate the pace of development in the event of coming to power in the State.

"Bihar mein vikas ki raftar badhane ki jarurat hai. Hamein Bihar ki mauzooda stithi par chinta hai" (there is a pressing need for accelerating the pace of development in Bihar and we are concerned about the prevailing situation in the State), Sonia Gandhi said while addressing an election rally at Korha in Katihar district.

"Congress agar satta mein aati hai to Bihar mein kanoon vayavastha ke saath saath jivan ke har khsetra mein sudhar lane ki kosish karegi (in the event of coming to power, Congress will strive for improving the law and order as also in all other fields of life)," Gandhi said without directly attacking the 15-year rule of the RJD.

At the same time, she, however, said her party would continue to exert "moral pressure" on the State Government for improvement in Bihar. She asked the electorate to cast their valuable votes in favour of the Congress for a bright future of the State.

Underlining the need for a better industrial climate, improvement in education and accelerating the pace of development to end "poverty and unemployment" in Bihar, Gandhi cautioned the people against the "divisive and communal" forces "seeking to thrust upon a Gujarat-like situation in the State".

"Hamein samaj ke arthik, samajik, naitik aur vyawaharik stithi ko sudharne ke liye vikas ki raftar tej karni hogi (we will have to speed up development for economic, social, moral improvement in the society)," she said.

Referring to the problems facing the banana and jute cultivators in this region, Gandhi said that the Centre would take effective steps to resolve the problems of the farmers. She said effective steps would be taken to set up a chain of food processing units.

Talking about the national employment guarantee bill already tabled in Parliament, Gandhi said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government had taken a number of steps for ameliorating the lot of dalits, minorities and backwards and brought the legislation seeking to guarantee employment to at least one member of every poor family for at least 100 days in a year.

She said that as part of the Government's endeavour to give a fresh thrust to development in backward districts, some districts in Bihar have also been chosen for implementation of welfare schemes.