Nitish Kumar skips NITI Aayog meeting; RJD alleges boycott due to budget discontent

Senior RJD leader Chitranjan Gagan alleged that Nitish, contrary to his claim, was not happy with the Union Budget as he knew the reality of what the Centre actually gave to the state.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar File Photo | PTI

PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday skipped the NITI Aayog meeting held in New Delhi, even as the main opposition party RJD alleged that he boycotted it because he "knew the reality" of how the state was not given its due in the Union Budget.

The 9th governing council meeting of the NITI Aayog was held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Cultural Centre in the national capital, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

However, Bihar’s two deputy chief ministers – Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha – participated in the meeting.

Nitish-led JD(U) is a key NDA ally in Bihar and at the Centre, with the party's 12 MPs being important for the stability of the Narendra Modi government.

The reason behind Nitish's absence from the crucial meeting was not known, but it is not the first time that he has not attended the NITI Aayog’s meetings.

JD(U) chief spokesperson and MLC Neeraj Kumar said it was not unusual for Nitish to miss the NITI Aayog meetings, as Bihar was often represented by the then deputy CM.

“In addition, there are four Union ministers from Bihar who are members of the NITI Aayog, and they will be present in the meeting,” he added.

On the other hand, senior RJD leader and spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan alleged that Nitish, contrary to his claim, was not happy with the Union Budget as he knew the reality of what the Centre actually gave to the state.

“Peeved over the budgetary proposals made for Bihar, Nitish in fact boycotted the meeting. It is intriguing why he should not attend it when JD(U) wants to create an impression that the Narendra Modi government has given a Rs 58,000 crore-plus special package. Nitish not attending the meeting is not a normal thing,” he added.

“RJD will hold a press conference on how the Centre is misleading people by repackaging old projects as new ones,” he added.

Meanwhile, Nitish on Saturday held a meeting with JD(U) leaders from Jharkhand and said that his party wanted to contest the assembly election in the neighbouring state in alliance with the BJP.

The meeting was attended by JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, who is in charge of Jharkhand, senior minister Ashok Choudhary, Rajya Sabha MP and Jharkhand RJD president Khiru Mahto, among others.

Khiru, in the meeting, submitted a list of 11 seats which could be contested by JD(U) in the upcoming Jharkhand assembly election. The party leaders also demanded that Kurmis be included in the list of Scheduled Tribes. Delegates from West Bengal also supported their Jharkhand counterparts on the issue.

“We will now move forward by raising the issue in Parliament and before President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah,” Khiru added.