India 'Smart City' list: 'Why no city from UP, Bihar, Bengal included?'

Modi government has asserted that the selection process was carried in a transparent manner.

New Delhi: A day after Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu released the first list of 20 cities to be developed as smart cities, the issue of inclusion/exclusion has turned political.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minsiter Tejashwi Yadav set the cat among the pigeons when he said, “Smart city list has no city from UP, Bihar or West Bengal. Bihar is the first state that needs smart cities the most.”

“People have noted that Bihar is being discriminated against,” he added.

Yadav's comments come despite Modi government's assertion that the selection process was carried in a transparent manner and that no politics was involved. The selection was based on scores that cities got for carrying out urban reforms and the financial stability of their Smart City proposal.

Of the 20 cities names in the first list, nine are from BJP-ruled states and 4 from Congress-ruled states. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh got two cities each, while Punjab, Odisha and Delhi got one.