Nitish misleading people on Bihar special status: Cong

A day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar slammed the United Progressive Alliance government for shelving the special status demand at the behest of its 'natural' ally, the Congress hit back charging him with misleading the people on the issue and instigating them against it.

"Kumar is deliberately misleading the people and instigating them against the Congress-led UPA government by making baseless charge that the latter has shelved the special status demand by Bihar under the influence of its natural ally," Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Chaudhary said in a statement.

The chief minister has been consistently making baseless remarks that the Centre has shelved Bihar's special status demand on the basis of the Raghuram Rajan panel report in spite of the fact that the report was under consideration of the Centre and the Planning Commission, he said.

The Raghuram Rajan panel report has neither been rejected nor withdrawn by the UPA government, Chaudhary said while rubbishing Kumar's charge as 'politically motivated' that the Centre has shelved the special status demand under influence of its 'ally,' he said.

Reminding the chief minister that he had welcomed the Raghuram Rajan panel report wholeheartedly and thanked the Centre for the same, Chaudhary asked the former to explain the reason behind criticising the Centre for the past two weeks charging it with going back on its promise to accord special status to Bihar.

Making a rant against the chief minister, the BPCC president alleged that the former has become "unpopular" and has no issue other than the special status demand to woo the people in the general elections.

Chaudhary also reminded Kumar that contrary to his insinuations the Centre has given Rs 12,000 crore special package to Bihar, in addition to generous grants under other heads during its two terms.

Image: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

Photograph: Reuters