Nitish Kumar on notes ban had said PM Modi was bravely 'riding a tiger'.
Highlights
- Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has praised notes ban
- Congress in Bihar warns "don't push it, or we could pull out"
- Other ally Lalu Yadav has also attacked PM for notes ban
Nitish Kumar's fast and frequent praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ban on 500 and 1,000-rupee notes has upset both his allies, the Congress and Lalu Yadav.
Earlier this week, Mr Kumar, who is the Bihar Chief Minister, flexed some flourish when he said the PM "is riding a tiger" to crackdown on tax evasion, forgery, and counterfeiting.
Mr Kumar has annexed a disclaimer to his public compliments for the PM's outlawing of old notes, stating that the long lines at banks and the despair in rural India which suddenly finds itself cashless is problematic.
The fine print has not appeased the Congress, which is the most junior of the three parties that compose the Bihar government. Ashok Choudhary, who is a minister and heads the Congress in Bihar, warned today, "Nitish kumar should be more frank on this issue. We are in this government on the basis of the high command's orders. We can also pull out if they order that."
The Congress has hosted several meetings of opposition parties in Delhi to coordinate a combined attack on the government in parliament over PM Modi's decision. All parties say that though they condemn black money, the reform is poorly planned and incompetently executed. The cancelled notes formed 86% of the cash in circulation. New high-denomination bills of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 are in short supply, and less than half of the country's ATMs are able to dispense them.
Sources said that top Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Gulam Nabi Azad who has charged PM Modi with introducing "India's biggest economic decision" without consultation, have conveyed to Mr Kumar that he must employ stronger language to condemn the hardship caused by the notes ban.
More problematic for the Chief Minister is the reported anger of Lalu Yadav, whose party won the most seats for the alliance. Lalu, as he is known, has said the PM's attempt will fail in checking black money, and is upset with Mr Kumar's declaration of his "full support" to Mr Modi.
While the Chief Minister has complimented the PM, his party's top leaders and parliamentarians have participated in the protests in Delhi against demonetization. Sources close to Mr Kumar say that he believes that the PM's move is largely supported by the public, which is why he does not want to attack it. At the same time, he has been careful to say that farmers and the poor must not suffer, allowing him to have all bases covered.