THE FINE PRINT
The PMO has listed a break-up of the Rs 1.25-lakh-crore special package but no time frame or the potential source of funds was given. The single biggest component is the promise made on national highways: Rs 54,713 crore. Usually, big public-sector investments are bunged into such packages. Accordingly, petroleum and natural gas comes second on the list with the promise of Rs 21,476 crore. Earlier this year, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had submitted a memorandum by an all-party delegation (excluding the BJP) demanding Rs 1.10 lakh crore as assistance from the Centre. Quite a few of the demands made by Nitish in that memorandum, like a new airport for Patna, roads and educational institutes, figure in the Prime Minister’s special package.
THE SARCASM
On being criticised for calling Bihar “Bimaru”, Modi said on Tuesday: “May his (Nitish Kumar’s) mouth be full of sugar and honey. But tell me, if a man is not sick, does he go to the doctor? If everything is all right in Bihar, why does he keep demanding things from the Centre?”
THE SLUGFEST
Nitish responded: “Was the Prime Minister auctioning Bihar? This is just re-packaging, not a package.”
“It appeared that the Prime Minister was bribing the voters of Bihar,” added Janata Dal United national spokesperson K.C. Tyagi.
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