Patna: With the UPA government reduced to a minority after Mamata Banerjee's withdrawal, political parties are seizing the opportunity to enumerate the conditions for their support.
"Whoever supports special status for Bihar, we will support them at the centre," said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He said that Bihar, which has 40 Lok Sabha seats, will play a lead role in deciding who comes to power next. Currently, his Janta Dal (United ) has 22 Lok Sabha MPs and governs Bihar in partnership with the BJP.
However, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, who is also the NDA convener, made light of Mr Kumar's remark. "I speak to Nitish Kumar three times a day... He is usually three-four places ahead of me so what can I say about what he has said... there is nothing of the sort," he said.
The Congress, meanwhile, has said that both Bihar and Uttar Pradesh should get 'special attention.' "Every state asks for a special status, the government of India will take a call... All things are discussed between state-centre leadership. Several states including UP, Bihar need special packages, so we will have to discuss," Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh told NDTV.
Earlier this year, the centre rejected the 'special status' tag for Bihar which would entitle the state to large loans, major tax concessions, financial packages, infrastructure development, and a concerted effort by the centre to boost private investment in Bihar. Mr Kumar's administration says that when Bihar was bifurcated in 2000, it lost a significant part of its natural resources to the new state of Jharkhand. In retaliation to the Centre's refusal, Mr Kumar began his Adhikar Yatra (Rights March) from Bettaih in West Champaran district today. It will culminate on November 4 with a rally in Patna, the first since in the state capital in nearly seven years.
The BJP, which leads the NDA coalition, of which Mr Kumar's JD(U) is a key constituent, downplayed the latter's remark. "You misunderstood what he (Nitish Kumar) was saying. He was taunting the Congress as there was a request for special assistance earlier. There is nothing more to it," said BJP Spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.
Over the last few months, the relationship of the BJP and the JD(U) has been disturbed by the chief minister's remarks against senior BJP leader Narendra Modi. Mr Kumar has said that as the largest party in the ensemble, the BJP has the prerogative of picking the coalition's prime ministerial candidate. However, he has warned that he will exit the group if the BJP makes Mr Modi its nominee. 18% of Bihar is Muslim, and their vote is crucial for Mr Kumar. He has stressed that the NDA's prime ministerial candidate must have secular credentials-a thinly-veiled remark against Mr Modi, whose ambitions to move to the national landscape from Gujarat are hampered by the communal riots in his state in 2002.
Earlier this year, the centre rejected the 'special status' tag for Bihar which would entitle the state to large loans, major tax concessions, financial packages, infrastructure development, and a concerted effort by the centre to boost private investment in Bihar. Mr Kumar's administration says that when Bihar was bifurcated in 2000, it lost a significant part of its natural resources to the new state of Jharkhand. In retaliation to the Centre's refusal, Mr Kumar began his Adhikar Yatra (Rights March) from Bettaih in West Champaran district today. It will culminate on November 4 with a rally in Patna, the first since in the state capital in nearly seven years.
The BJP, which leads the NDA coalition, of which Mr Kumar's JD(U) is a key constituent, downplayed the latter's remark. "You misunderstood what he (Nitish Kumar) was saying. He was taunting the Congress as there was a request for special assistance earlier. There is nothing more to it," said BJP Spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.
Over the last few months, the relationship of the BJP and the JD(U) has been disturbed by the chief minister's remarks against senior BJP leader Narendra Modi. Mr Kumar has said that as the largest party in the ensemble, the BJP has the prerogative of picking the coalition's prime ministerial candidate. However, he has warned that he will exit the group if the BJP makes Mr Modi its nominee. 18% of Bihar is Muslim, and their vote is crucial for Mr Kumar. He has stressed that the NDA's prime ministerial candidate must have secular credentials-a thinly-veiled remark against Mr Modi, whose ambitions to move to the national landscape from Gujarat are hampered by the communal riots in his state in 2002.
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