PATNA: After the Centre refused to grant special status to Bihar, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad on Thursday sharpened his attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accusing him of surrendering to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the issue of special category status.
On his return from New Delhi to Patna, Lalu told media persons, “Nitish Kumar has cheated the people of Bihar on the special category status. He is only repeating the central government and does not have his own stand. He (Nitish) has failed on it.”
He also claimed that the central government did not allocate substantial resources to Bihar in the Union budget. “It was like giving only a ‘jhunjhuna’ (toy) to the people of the state,” he remarked.
The RJD supremo said that it is clear that the development of Bihar can’t take place without getting the special category status for the state. He, however, reiterated his resolve that his party would continue to raise the demand for special category status to Bihar.
Earlier, Lalu had demanded Nitish’s resignation after the Centre ruled out the possibility of a special category status for the state on Monday.
Reacting sharply to Lalu's remarks, Janata Dal (United) chief spokesperson and MLC Neeraj Kumar said that Lalu was making such statements only because he had no concern for the development of Bihar but was only concerned about his family. “Lalu used the word ‘surrender’ as he keeps surrendering (before the court in fodder scam cases),” he added.
JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha echoed similar views and said that Lalu and his party were speaking against Bihar and its people. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has played the role of game changer,” he asserted.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the sanction of Rs. 58,900 crore to Bihar in the Union budget presented in the Lok Sabha on July 23. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar hailed the budget and said that it was a big gift to the state.
“Since the beginning, I have been saying that the Centre must give special help to Bihar and today they have made the announcement to help us in several developmental projects and schemes,” Nitish remarked.