Governance the priority of new Govt: Nitish Kumar

     Patna: With the NDA poised to form a government in Bihar as JD(U)-BJP appears set for a near sweep in the 243 member Bihar assembly elections, Nitish Kumar who is likely to take over the reins of the state said here today that governance and all round development of the state would be the priority of the new government. "The people of Bihar have voted against the 15 years of misrule, and priority of the new government will be to restore law and order situation in the state and bring back the wheel of development on the track," said Nitish Kumar while taking to reporters outside his residence. He assured that the new government would work for the betterment of all sections of the society. "People of all castes and creeds have voted in favour of NDA and we have to come up with their expectations," he said. Appreciating the election commission for conducting free and fair election in the state, Nitish Kumar said, "we are satisfied with the role of the election commission as the election was free and fair." "The election commission has proved wrong the myth that there cannot be free and fair election in Bihar," he said adding that the new government would prove the myth untrue that there could not be good governance and development in the state. "People of Bihar have the talent and ability to prove this myth untrue and we will all do it together," he said. On the question of deputy chief minister, Nitish Kuamr said, "JD (U) and BJP will sit together and sort out these issues in a day or two". Meanwhile, RJD president and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has conceded defeat and assured all support on behalf of his party and the Central government. "I congratulate Nitish Kumar on his victory, he is like my younger brother and we will work as a constructive opposition," said Yadav.

      George Fernandes says UPA has no right to rule

     New Delhi: National Democratic Alliance (NDA) convener George Fernandes on Tuesday predicted very tough days ahead for Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and his United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government in the wake of its defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections. He said that the Government could expect a very tough opposition during the month-long Winter Session of Parliament, which gets underway from Wednesday. He said that the vote pattern had exposed the lack of credibility that both Lalu Yadav and Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan had as far as the people of Bihar were concerned. The results had also exposed the two main Left parties ' CPI (M) and CPI ' both of which contested the polls in a seat-sharing arrangement with the RJD and the LJP respectively. The results showed that the people of Bihar had no faith in either the Congress or the two Left parties, who are supporting the UPA Government from outside. "The Congress has been exposed as a set of people who have taken money both from the KGB and the CIA. Now, the Volcker Committee has pointed out that money which should have gone to the hungry people of Iraq was appropriated by them," Fernandes said. Even as the Bihar results suggested a majority victory for the NDA after over a month of electioneering, Fernandes said the path was now clear for former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to start his second stint as chief minister afresh with development of the state being his main focus. Commenting on the NDA securing 145 of the 243 Assembly seats up for grabs in the elections spread over four phases in October and November, Fernandes said the result clearly suggested that the people of Bihar had lost patience with Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which had ruled the state for 15 years, and were now keen for a change of leadership. The result, he said, was also a verdict against the role played by Bihar Governor Buta Singh in the preceding months leading up to the elections in state, the second this year.