Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, taking a dig at some of the opponents of his plan to provide pension to those imprisoned during the Jai Prakash Narayan-led movement in the Seventies, said he was going ahead with the scheme whether they liked it or not and they needed to change their mindset to see the importance of this plan.
During a press conference following his weekly janata darbar at his residence on Monday, Kumar said it was only understandable why the Congress leaders were opposed to the idea. "They were part of the problem during the Emergency and therefore, it is no surprise that they are against the idea of providing pension to those who went to jail fighting one of the darkest periods in the post-Independence Indian history," Kumar said.
He also took a indirect stab at his own leader and former Chief Minister of Bihar Jagannath Mishra who has come out strong against the pension plan.
"Those who were with the Congress at the time of Emergency but are no longer with them should try to change their mindset. In spite of the fact that the Congress, over the years, has apologized for imposing Emergency in the country, its leaders are still against the pension plan because of their role during the Emergency," Kumar said while admonishing all leaders to be wary of the Congress that was still trying to play politics with those who suffered immensely during the '70s agitation.
The Chief Minister appealed to all parties to cut across the line and extend their support to implement pension to those who went to jail during the Emergency period.
