The BJP on Tuesday accused the ‘tottering’ UPA of playing the ‘Bihar card’ for its survival and pooh-poohed the efforts saying its alliance with the trusted NDA partner remains very strong. The principal opposition, which shares power with JD(U) in Bihar, also decried the “backward State” tag under consideration.
According to reports in a section of press, Centre may soon revise the criteria of backward State, which will benefit Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and some other States.
“Ten crore people of Bihar are not backward. Yes, it has been deprived and need special attention. But to call it a backward state is not fair,” BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
On possibilities of JD(U) walking out of the NDA due to overtures from the Congress, Rudy said there was no reason to suspect the ally. “We will form the next Government in New Delhi and Nitish Kumar will be with us. There is a strong BJP-JD(U) Government in Bihar. We are preparing for the lok Sabha elections. Irrespective of what the Central government thinks, Bihar deserves (financial) support and it should not be based on politics,” he said.
He added, “The Manmohan Singh Government is tottering and is on the verge of a total collapse. Whatever efforts it may make, I do not think it is going to survive for long”.
There has been intense media speculation about Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s move in case the BJP decides to project his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the NDA. Kumar has also kept the BJP on tenterhooks with his recent statements and a massive rally in the national capital to press for the special status demand.
The BJP, however, emphasised that Bihar needs a special status as it is “deprived” of resources since Jharkhand was carved out of it. The government, the Planning Commission and other authorities should bear this in mind. Rudy said “possibly” the Central government is playing the “Bihar card” at this juncture as it is in a “critical state”.
Under the present rules, states which fall in the category of hilly area, having a high SC/ST population or are located near the border get special status. Rudy maintained that Bihar should be given this grant as it is lacks in resources.