Bihar Minister Slams BJP's Sushil Modi For Jet Remark Against Nitish Kumar

Bihar Finance Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary today said that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Kumar Modi's remark on the purchase of a jet by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar shows the mentality of the BJP.

"You can understand what kind of mentality they (BJP) have. Earlier they had felt the need for it, but now when it has happened they feel that it's done under pressure. If they had courage, they would have acknowledged that they too used to say it earlier," Bihar Finance Minister Choudhary said on Sushil Modi's remark in which he claimed the jet plane being purchased by the state government will be used for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's dream of becoming Prime Minister in 2024.

Speaking to ANI, the BJP leader had said, "This 12-seater jet plane worth more than Rs 250 crore won't be used in Bihar as the state has few runways, instead, it will be used for Nitish Kumar's dream of becoming PM 2024, which anyway won't be fulfilled. This plane is being purchased for him to travel across the country."

Questioning the Bihar government's decision to buy a jet plane, Sushil Modi further said that in Bihar there are only four runways (Patna, Darbhanga, Purnia and Gaya), so there is no place for jets to land, then why is the government spending Rs 250 crore on it?

"Nitish Kumar didn't buy it for 15 years and then why now? Are a helicopter and plane being gifted to Tejashwi Yadav?" asked Sushil Modi.

The BJP leader said that the Bihar government already has a plane which is operational.

He further said that the Bihar CM is doing this to make his face shine all over the country and to gift Tejashwi Yadav as there is no other purpose of buying it now.

"If you rent it, it will be much cheaper. In a poor state like Bihar there is no justification for spending Rs 350-400 crore on jet planes and helicopters," said Sushil Modi.

The BJP leader said that the government does not have money to give to the kin of people who died because of spurious liquor but it has money to buy new aircraft.

"Nitish Kumar is refusing to give money to those who died of spurious liquor. The state government is saying that the condition of our treasury is bad. Our GST compensation has stopped but you are now buying jet planes to make your face shine and travel across the country which has no justification," he added.

Earlier, on Tuesday, Additional Chief Secretary (Cabinet) S Siddharth said that the Bihar government has decided to buy a jet engine aircraft and an advanced helicopter to replace the faulty ones for the movement of top political executives and senior bureaucrats.

In the meeting, chaired by him, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar approved the civil aviation department's proposal to purchase the new aircraft for long-distance travel and a helicopter in place of the outdated aircraft and faulty chopper for the government's use. It was among the seven proposals that were discussed and approved by the Cabinet.

The old aircraft and helicopter will be used for training and tourism purposes after thorough repairs.

The process to purchase the new jet plane and helicopter will start once the committee submits its report to the government.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)