Nitish slams Centre over invitation

Bihar Chief Nitish Kumar today slammed the Centre for not inviting the state government at the inauguration of Kisangunj Aligarh Muslim University centre on January 30 and said that in doing so the UPA government has set a wrong precedent.
Congress President is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the AMU centre.
While Governor D Y Patil has been invited for the function, neither the chief minister nor the state education minister has received any official intimation about it.
Kumar said the centre's 'deliberate bid' not to invite the state government to the programme is a 'serious matter' as it has bearing on the centre-state relations.

He took a dim view of the AMU centre's inauguration just months before the general elections even though the land was made available more than two years ago free of cost.
The Centre's decision was 'cowardly', Kumar said adding it was perhaps afraid to invite the state government to the function as the people would give credit to the state government for providing land for the study centre and other assistance and questioned its (Centre's) propriety.

"But I am happy that the institution is coming up at last," the chief minister said adding he has no problem with anybody inaugurating the project. However, intimation about the function and invitation should have been sent to the state government.

Coming down hard on the Congress for 'trying to take sole credit' for the AMU study centre and wooing the minorities ahead of the general elections, Kumar said the party will not succeed in its designs and it will have adverse impact on its fortunes.
The Centre's action also displays lack of work culture, he said and claimed that it was due to the state government's endeavour that the AMU study centre was coming up at Kisanganj.
State Education Minister P K Shahi has written to the Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal protesting against it.