Nitish had 'scuttled' Bihar spl status demand: Lalu

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad has accused chief minister Nitish Kumar of 'scuttling' Bihar's demand for special category state status demand during his tenure as a union minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

“When the NDA was in power at the Centre and Kumar was a cabinet minister, the then Rabri Devi government had sent a proposal seeking special status for Bihar. The then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had approved the proposal but Kumar threw a spanner into the works,” Lalu claimed.

The claim derived its significance from the fact that the Bihar chief minister is running a state-wide campaign to pressure the center to grant the special category state status to Bihar, through his 'adhikar yatra'.

The RJD leader made the claim while addressing a rally at Munger in south-eastern Bihar as part of his 'parivartan yatra', which commenced on Wednesday.

The purpose of his tour is to expose the 'failures' of the Nitish regime and usher in 'change' in the state.

The RJD chief, who appeared pleased with the good crowd turnout at the rally, said now the people of the state wanted change.