With the State unit of the BJP pulling out all stops for the party’s proposed Hunkar Rally on October 27 at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan, the senior party leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Shushil Kumar Modi on Thursday said that the issue of special package to Bihar will now be raised by party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi himself at the rally.
The BJP also set off ‘gaon-gaon, ghar-ghar’ programme to reach out to maximum people for the scheduled rally.
“Since the Bihar Chief Minister has failed to secure special status for the State, now the BJP will raise this issue by none other than party’s PM candidate Narendra Modi himself at party’s Hunkar Rally,” said Sushil Modi.
After the release of the Raghuram Rajan Committee report which had ranked Bihar as the second poorest State in the country, the CM has conveniently diluted his stand on the issue and “that is obvious to one and all,” added the senior BJP leader.
“He has conveniently reduced his demand and now merely wants additional financial assistance and tax break at par with those States enjoying special status,” he added further while addressing mediapersons at the party headquarters.
Modi also said that what Nitish Kumar now is demanding as Bihar package would not be enough to complete the various infrastructure projects pending for long in the State. “The pending projects would require about Rs 40,000 crore to complete them and now under the present circumstances it will be appropriate to make the demand afresh,” he said.
While explaining further the former Finance Minister of Bihar also said that the BJP would like creation of a fourth category of States called “disadvantaged States” needing special status. “I’m sure that Bihar will qualify for the fourth State category and will get the special status,” he said.
“The Centre will be forced to consider the demand of special status when it was made by none other than the party’s prime ministerial candidate himself,” said Shushil Modi.
Earlier, the BJP leader who has been State’s Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister as well for the last seven and half years was singing paeans to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s continuous demand of special status to the State.
“Now after he was dethroned from the post of Minister, he has become depressed and making uncalled for statements to get into the good book of his party’s PM face Narendra Modi. We do not take him serious now,” alleged JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar.
Meanwhile, the State BJP leaders have started ‘gaon-gaon, ghar-ghar’ programme to get in touch with maximum people for the success of Hunkar Rally. Party’s young MlA Nitin Navin on Thursday was seen visiting door-to-door in his constituency while appealing them to come to the Hunkar Rally in large number on October 27.