Nitish attacks Centre on issue of special status to Bihar

Amid indications that Congress may ally with RJD for Lok Sabha polls, an apparently upset Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today attacked the UPA government over the failure to grant special status to the state, saying its priorities have changed due to the upcoming elections.

The JD(U) leader refused to comment on the possibility of Congress forging an alliance with RJD led by his bete noire Lalu Prasad, dismissing it as "their decision" about which his party was not concerned.

"It seemed for a while that the Centre was serious (about special status). It took some initiatives. It now seems to have developed cold feet. The issue is in cold storage. Elections are coming. It will be a big issue for us," Kumar said while addressing a conference -- "Bihar Kal, Aaj aur Kal - Governance at the grassroots: A model for India".

Turning philosophical, he quipped, "Waqt-waqt ki baat hai (It all depends on times). Time changes. The wheel of time rotates all the while. It favours somebody at one time, it favours somebody else at another time."

Kumar had been consistently soft on Congress after he called off his party's alliance with BJP over the elevation of Narendra Modi earlier this year.

Congress had dropped hints of courting JD(U) but lately it seems inclined to have a tie-up with RJD.

Asked by PTI if he was dissappointed over a possible alliance between Congress and RJD, the Chief Minister said his party was never in talks with the former for any alliance.

"This (tie up with RJD) is their decision...There was never any talk between us....Bihar wants special status and it is our right. We will get it," he said.

In an apparent reference to Prasad, he said somebody after coming out of jail is behaving as if he was behind bars for participating in "freedom movement".

Kumar launched an attack on the Gujarat Chief Minister, saying dreams are being sold to people that somebody with a magic wand will solve all problems facing the country.