BHOPAL, Nov 22: Union Minister Kapil Sibal today said facts and figures were testimony to UPA’s good work in the country which the BJP has chosen to ignore even as he accused the party of mis-governance in Madhya Pradesh.
Speaking to reporters here, Sibal listed out dismal statistics in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh to support his allegations of bad governance in the state.
“There are a number of parameters which could indicate that a lot of constructive work was done during the two UPA regimes but no one talks about them,” Sibal said.
Hitting out at BJP’s Prime Ministerial nominee Narendra Modi, Sibal said: “he (Modi) lacks the courage to face a press conference.”
The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh also makes “tall claims” about its achievements but reality shows it was still a backward state, he said.
The Union Minister said MP has the dubious distinction of having the highest mortality rate for infants among all 28 states and seven union territories in the country.
Sibal said that as per the Sample Registration System data for 2012, for the 10th year in a row, MP has emerged as the worst place in the country to be born in, registering an infant mortality rate of 56 per 1,000 live births.
Also, the number of malnourished children has gone up from 53.55 to 60 per cent, while the number of anaemic women has gone up from 47 to 57 per cent, he said.
The Union Minister said that as per the June 2013 report of State Women and Child Welfare Department, 1.62 lakh children in the state were found to be critically malnourished and 14 lakh more kids were found to underfed.
Sibal said that the India State Hunger Index, compiled by the International Food Policy Research in 2008, had positioned Madhya Pradesh between Ethiopia and Chad on malnutrition situation.
He said it was ironical that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan boasted about ‘Beti Bachao Andolan’ even though Madhya Pradesh topped the list of states in the country when it came to exploitation of minors particularly girls.
The Union Minister said the per capita income in MP was Rs 32,222 which was much below the national average of Rs 53,331. (PTI)
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