RJD's Manoj Jha slams Nitish Kumar, says special status is right of people of Bihar

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha on Thursday said hit out at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and said that the special status for Bihar is the right of the people of the state.

Speaking to ANI, Jha questioned Nitish Kumar's intention over the special status demand for Bihar.

"When the JDU became part of the NDA, they did not raise the demand of special status for Bihar. In 2005, he prayed for a special status demand for Bihar. Atal ji was inclined to grant this but on the way to the airport, someone told him that JDU will take for the entire credit. Maybe, so this demand of Nitish Kumar may be like geopolitical football to keep it in the kitty or to bounce it. But, special status is the right of the people of Bihar," he said.

Notably, Nitish Kumar on Wednesday asserted that he was not giving up on the demand for special category status for the state, distancing himself from a cabinet colleague who had recently averred that the ruling dispensation here was "tired" of making requests to the Centre.

The RJD leader slammed the attitude of the Bihar government and said, "Yesterday our leader Tejashvi Yadav wrote a letter about the situation of floods. Just before that one of the senior leaders of JD(U) also said that he feel very helpless and tired now. I can only say that the language of helplessness can be of Janata Dal-United. It cannot be the language of Bihar."

The Member of Parliament said that RJD is demanding special status for Bihar and they are not asking for charity.

"If Bihar asks for the right of a special state, then that right is ours. We are not asking for charity. If any government at the Centre has changed the parameter for the particular state, then perhaps the people of Bihar will change the government," he said.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday promised to secure special status for the state if Mahagathbandhan wins 39 of 40 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

( With inputs from ANI )