PM Narendra Modi addresses the rally in Bhagalpur, Bihar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has issued his latest challenge to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in their war of crores for Bihar. At a 'Parivartan rally' in Bhagalpur today, the biggest yet he asserted, PM Modi rubbished Nitish Kumar's announcement last week of development schemes worth Rs 2.7 lakh crore.
"There is a finance commission that decides how much money the Centre will give to the states...it has said that in the next five years, Bihar will get Rs 3.76 lakh crore. This means you are getting only Rs 2.7 lakh crore out of the Delhi money," PM Modi alleged, adding, "We should ask where will 1.6 lakh crore go...has it gone into fodder?"
The comment was a dig not only at Nitish Kumar but also his ally Lalu Yadav, who was convicted last year in the state's infamous fodder scam.
The PM's attempt to deny Mr Kumar the credit he had sought is only the latest set of big numbers being thrown at the voters in Bihar, where elections are due by November. PM Modi emphasized that while Mr Kumar's "package" would come out of monies set aside for the state by the finance commission, the Rs 1.25 lakh crore in central aid that he had announced at his last rally, is separate.
Nitish Kumar has in turn dismissed PM Modi's package as nothing more than an election promise. "Modiji, stop the rhetorics, chest thumping & everyday new promises. Show moral courage...Respect the sentiments of people of Bihar who have been troubled by your unkept promises & unsavoury comments," Mr Kumar said today in tweets strategically timed to coincide with the PM's arrival in Bihar.
"This is not like the package the prime minister announced. We will get funds for these projects and implement them as soon as possible," Mr Kumar had said while announcing the schemes worth Rs 2.7 lakh crores.
The BJP in Bihar is confident that the PM's announcement of the central bonanza for Bihar last month is a game changer and will give it a huge advantage in the assembly elections.
The party takes on an alliance led by Nitish Kumar and which includes Lalu Yadav's RJD and the Congress, in the Bihar elections.