Friday, November 11 2005 16:07 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bagaha (Bihar): Lambasting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for describing Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President and Railway minister Lalu Prasad as 'vikas purush' (a man of development), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief L K Advani today (Nov 11, 2005) said it was unfortunate that Singh was showering praise on a man who was responsible for the backwardness of the state.

"Being an economist, PM is aware of the state of affairs of the state. Despite being in the know of the fact who was responsible for the ills plaguing Bihar, he described Lalu as Vikash Purush during an election meeting in Sitamarhi on November Eight", Advani told an election rally here.

"There is no job avenue, industries are closed and there is large-scale exodus of people from the state in search of livelihood", he said.

Advani also accused Manmohan Singh, Governor Buta Singh and Lalu Prasad of thursting another elections on the state in a span of seven months, which, he said, was 'unprecedented in the history'.

He called upon the electorate to vote for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates to help install Nitish Kumar to form a strong and viable government for fostering a new era of development.