Bihar, Jharkhand cross swords over pension spends

There pension row between Bihar and Jharkhand has gotten uglier. With Jharkhand refusing to pay Rs 2,584 crores, Bihar government has now asked the central government adjust the pending amount from Jharkhand share in the central funds. Nitish Kumar led NDA government in Bihar has also demanded interest on the pending amount.

"Bihar desperately needs money right now," said Bihar Deputy CM, Sushil Kumar Modi, "and this money will provide us a breather. After the bifurcation of the state, all the minerals and industries of Bihar went to Jharkhand. We had lost a great sum of money in taxes due to it. But we continued to pay the retired government employees their pensions. Now, it's Jharkhand's turn to return the favor." He added, "We have also asked the central government to intervene in this matter and adjust the pending amount from Jharkhand's share in the central funds. We will stake our claim on interest too. We have decided to ask Jharkhand government to pay us Rs 2,371 crores on the interest payments."