Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday ruled out any possibility of an alliance with the Congress. He announced that the Janata Dal (United) has sealed an alliance with the Communist Party of India in Bihar.
“That is out of the question. This was a rumour. We have nothing to do with what is going on between the Congress and the RJD. The Congress is not is talks with the Janata Dal (United). As for the special status demand, that is our ongoing campaign,” Mr. Kumar told reporters in response to a question on the sidelines of a function.
“We have formed an alliance with the CPI in Bihar. We have also discussed with the CPI (M), but could not finalise anything,” he said.
Mr. Kumar refuted Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s attack at the ‘Hunkar rally’ in Muzaffarpur.
“All his figures for Bihar are wrong,” Mr. Kumar said. In his address, Mr. Modi had said only 23 per cent of households in Bihar had toilets and only 16 per cent of them got power.
“He (Mr. Modi) should know that Bihar is the first State to implement the central scheme Lohiya Swakshata Abhiyan (Lohia cleanliness campaign) for BPL families. Bihar was the first State to start a toilet scheme for APL families too.
On power, Mr. Kumar said, “When he (Mr. Modi) started talking about the power situation, the response (from the crowd) was poor. We began from a zero-megawatt power situation. Can Bihar be compared to rich States? In areas where there is an electric pole and connection, power is supplied for 16 to 24 hours.”
The anti-Congress, anti-BJP new morcha, Mr. Kumar said, was causing much worry to his political opponents.
The Chief Minister took another dig at Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan, for praising Mr. Modi.
“You are talking about a person who once introduced himself to the Pakistan President as the one resigned after the Gujarat riots. Did he resign because of the riots or because his department was changed?” Mr. Kumar remarked.
