‘When UPA demanded special status for Bihar…’, JDU hits back at Lalu Prasad

Patna. The Janata Dal (United) on Monday hit out at Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad for demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar after the Centre rejected his demand for special status to Bihar, and said what was he doing when the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had also rejected it.

Kumar’s key aide and state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary told that if Bihar does not get special category status, the Centre can give it a special package or additional financial help. He said, “Today in the Lok Sabha, the Centre replied that Bihar cannot be given special category status, this does not mean that our (JD-U) demand has been rejected. From the very beginning, we (JD-U) have been demanding special category status or a special package or additional financial help from the Centre for Bihar.”

Chaudhary said, “Bihar is managing its finances on its own, but Bihar is among the poorest states of the country. If Bihar does not get special category status, then special package or additional financial help can be given from the Center and we are confident that Bihar will get a special package soon.” In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that in the past the National Development Council (NDC) had given special category status to some states.

The minister said these states had certain characteristics which needed special attention. Choudhary said the decision was taken based on an integrated consideration of all the factors listed above and the specific situation of a state. Criticising Lalu Prasad for demanding the resignation of the chief minister, Choudhary said the RJD chief had no moral right to comment on the issue.

He said, “What were they doing when Bihar’s demand was rejected by the UPA government? Their statement is baseless. The NDA government in Bihar under the leadership of Nitish Kumar is committed to the overall development of the state.”

Tags: Lalu Prasad Yadav, Nitish Kumar