Latest Politics News and Updates: CM: I'll back Modi if Delhi gives Bihar special status

Saturday, November 15, 2014

CM: I'll back Modi if Delhi gives Bihar special status - Times of India

Muzaffarpur: In what must not have come as music to the ears of Bihar's ruling JD (U) supremo and former chief minister Nitish Kumar, his predecessor Jitan Ram Manjhi on Saturday publicly announced that he would support Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nitish's bete noire, if the Centre grants special category state status to Bihar.

Nitish, who installed Manjhi as CM in his place after his party's debacle in the Lok Sabha election in Bihar, has been advocating for special status to Bihar for its economic growth for quite sometime now. But he has also repeatedly made no secret of his antipathy to Modi. He presided over the snapping of 17-year-old ties between the BJP and JD (U) in June 2013 after the saffron party declared Modi as its prime ministerial candidate in the run-up to parliamentary election.

However, sharing dais with seven Union ministers from Bihar at a function to mark the start of generation of 110MW of power from Kanti plant in Muzaffarpur district on Saturday, Manjhi said he would extend his support to Modi when he next meets the PM if he fulfils the long-cherished demand of Bihar for special status.

The CM also raised the issue of grant of Rs 1,700 crore for repair of national highways (NHs) in Bihar and reiterated the demand for reimbursement of at least Rs 900 crore which the state government had spent on repairs of NHs in recent past. Bihar has 4,371km of NHs.

The CM also demanded from the Union ministers to restore the original Indira Awas Yojana allotment of six lakh units to Bihar. It has been slashed to two lakh.

"Morning shows the day," he remarked about the seven Union ministers and hoped these ministers from Bihar would pave the way for release of adequate funds from the Centre. He said the central ministers should ensure release of funds to the state before June or July next year. Or else, the allotments would be rendered useless after the enforcement of model code of conduct for the state assembly election scheduled later next year.