'And Bihar Special Package...': Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Reminds PM Modi

New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deliver on the Rs 1.25 lakh crore special package he had promised to the state. PM Modi had announced the package in the run up to the Bihar assembly elections in 2015 that his party BJP had eventually lost to a rainbow coalition comprising Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), Lalu Yadav's party and the Congress.

Mr Kumar had discussed the Bihar package with PM Modi at their meeting on Friday, JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi told NDTV on Saturday.

Mr Kumar's meeting with PM Modi on Friday was his first after he dumped his alliance partners, Lalu Yadav and Congress, last month and returned as Chief Minister within hours, this time with support from the BJP.

"During the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, the Prime Minister had made some announcements. Also, some schemes are stalled and need help from the central government to be implemented," Mr Tyagi said.

The senior JD(U) leader said PM Modi had invited Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to Delhi later this month-end by when the plan would be finalised.

The special package, for which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had mocked PM Modi in the run-up to the bitterly-contested 2015 election and called the announcement a "fairy tale", would help Mr Kumar drive home the point that his switching sides would benefit, not just his party.

Bristling at what they call a betrayal, Lalu Yadav has vowed to punish Nitish Kumar and has been attacking the chief minister almost every other day. Leading the charge has been his younger son Tejashwi Yadav, who was Deputy Chief Minister in the previous version of the Nitish Kumar government.

On Saturday, Lalu Yadav and son Tejashwi Yadav who are named in corruption cases, launched counter allegations targeting Chief Minister Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

Mr Kumar also has had to tackle senior leaders within the JD(U) including founder president Sharad Yadav who has gone public against the alliance with BJP. On Saturday, Sharad Yadav was removed as leader of the party's 10 Rajya Sabha members as the first step but the party has made clear harsher penalties could follow.

"Sharadji is one of the founding members of the party, but it pains us that the path chosen by him leads to our rival, the Rashtriya Janata Dal," Mr Tyagi said.