New Delhi: RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday
accused the ruling Janta Dal(U) in Bihar of "misleading"
people on the issue of special status to the state.
"We met the Prime Minister today to thank him for
agreeing to give special state status to Bihar as was reported
in the vernacular media in Patna. But the Prime Minister told
us that he has given no such assurance.
"He also reminded me that any such proposal has to go
through the National Development Council, a process that is
yet to happen," Prasad told PTI after leading a party
delegation to the Prime Minister here.
The RJD leader alleged that "people are being misled on
the issue of special status. Bihar does deserve this but this
is an issue on which we will have to fight together."
He said that he has told the Prime Minister about the
financial constraints of the state particularly after
bifurcation of Bihar in 2000 during which most of the state's
natural resources went to Jharkhand.
Quoting a reply in Parliament by Minister of Planning
Ashwini Kumar in response to a question by JD-U MP N K Singh,
a section of media in Bihar have reported that Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh has promised to constitute an inter-ministerial
group to study Bihar's demand for special category status.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, August 10, 2011, 21:18