Patna, May 9: Chief minister Nitish Kumar today invoked divine power to take on the Congress-led UPA government and make it see reason, his latest tirade coming days after the Centre cancelled allocation for a coal block given to the state and rejected some of his other demands.
“It was Bihar which gave enlightenment to Gautama Buddha. Bapu Gandhi found Bihar worthy for launching the struggle to free India from British rule. It has been the land of Sufi saints and divine souls. They (central rulers) will find it hard to save themselves when Bihar curses them for their injustice to it,” Nitish said.
The chief minister was annoyed with the Centre for withdrawing a coal block to Bihar on the plea that extraction hadn’t begun. He was also cut up with junior human resource development minister D. Purandeswari for rejecting the demand to open a central university at Motihari.
Replying to a query related to the issues on the sidelines of the janata darbar at his official residence, Nitish said: “They (Centre) have not taken the lesson from their decimation in the 2010 elections. They are going to face tougher situations in the elections to follow, for they are hurting Bihar for reasons best known to them,” he said.
To begin with, Nitish said, giving the coal block was like offering a starved person a piece of land to farm on, produce grains and then eat. “At the very outset, I was opposed to the idea of a coal block which would have required at least 10 years to develop. I insisted on coal linkage to feed the power projects under construction,” he said.
The chief minister pointed out that the state was hardly left with the expertise to develop the coal block and then mine it after the segregation of Jharkhand. “But they gave us a coal block. And they have withdrawn it when we have initiated the process to develop the expertise to develop and mine it,” he said.
Nitish then shifted his focus to the literacy red flag waved by the Centre and slammed Purandeswari for rejecting the setting up of a central university at Motihari, headquarters of East Champaran district in north Bihar, 140km from Patna.
“Whey should a junior minister land here to deliberate on the issue on which the ministry’s boss, Kapil Sibal, had spoken at length at a meeting with me?” Nitish asked.
“Kapil Sibal had already rejected the proposal for setting up a central university at Motihari during his visit last month. I have also written a letter to the Union human resource minister saying I will wait for the day when they will pay tribute to Bapu Gandhi by opening the university at his karmbhoomi,” Nitish said.
The chief minister pointed out that he had given the proposal to set up the central university at Motihari only after the Centre asked for a proposal from him. “They have accepted the proposals given by Orissa and Tamil Nadu. Then why have they rejected my proposal? In the first place why did they ask for the proposal from me if they had to reject it,” he wondered.
Nitish then turned philosophical. “I am an optimist,” he said. “I have not lost hope. I know that there will come a time when Bihar has its people to take up its cause in the central government. I will wait for that day.”
Nitish also announced that he would set up a solar lighting system at 1 Aney Marg, his official residence, to meet the power needs. “I will try to ensure that the Bihar CM’s house is not dependent on external sources of energy and fulfils its power needs from the solar system,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition Abdul Bari Siddiqqui had recently demanded that Bihar’s ministers should curtail their electricity consumption.
Nitish also deliberated at length on his four-day trip to Bhutan while reiterating his demand of 1,500 MW of power in Bihar’s share from the projects coming up in the Himalayan country in co-operation with India.
