Bihar crisis: Manjhi meets PM as JD (U) stakes claim to form government

New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is under sharp criticism from the Janata Dal (United) for being defiant and reluctant to step down from his post, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official 7, Race Course Road (RCR) residence on Sunday evening to discuss the political situation in the state.

Manjhi, who has in the past lauded the Prime Minister for his initiatives, was in the national capital to attend the meeting of the NITI Aayog. Earlier in the day, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan had pledged his support for Manjhi, speculating that the BJP might hold a meeting with regard to the crisis. Meanwhile, Bihar Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary recognized former chief minister Nitish Kumar as the JD (U) legislature party leader, a day after he was elected to the post in Patna.

A delegation of leaders of the JD (U) and its allies have also reportedly submitted letters of support to the Governor's office, stating that Nitish has the support of 130 MLAs. Earlier last evening, Manjhi had called a meeting of the state cabinet, which authorised the Chief Minister to recommend the dissolution of Bihar Assembly. But this move was strongly opposed by 20 ministers loyal to his predecessor Nitish.

Manjhi claimed that only he is authorised to take a decision on dissolution of the assembly.

Manjhi had written a letter to the Bihar Governor and requested him not to accept the recommendations made by the JD (U) legislature party meeting headed by Sharad Yadav.

He also urged the Governor to remove 15 ministers from their posts with immediate effect. Adding a new twist to the entire controversy, 20 ministers on Saturday night sent their resignation to the Governor in support of Nitish. 

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NITI Aayog: States demand greater financial devolution, flexibility

New Delhi: Demands for greater devolution of funds to States from non-NDA Chief Ministers dominated the first meeting of the Governing Council of NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired on Sunday at his 7 Race Course Road residence.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam pitched for higher flow of funds from the Centre to the states and demanded that States’ share of funding of flagship programmes be limited to 25 per cent only. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav sought 90 per cent grants for central schemes saying Prime Minister Modi’s new mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ was not possible without provision of adequate resources to economically weaker states.

Kerela Chief Minister Oommen Chandy demanded that the Aayog continue with the functions the erstwhile Planning Commission performed — of determining, in consultation with the Union Finance Ministry and State Governments, the amount of resources to be made available to the States for Plan and Budget preparation. Mr. Yadav also stressed on continuation of Five Year Plans and said that the need in fact was for making even longer-term plans of 10- 15 years duration.

Noting that India cannot advance without all its states advancing in tandem, the Prime Minister said that he envisioned different states competing with each other in promoting governance initiatives, in a spirit of cooperative, competitive federalism, according to the official release. Mr. Modi said that though the world had started looking at India differently, the biggest challenge for the country still was how to eliminate poverty. He said jobs cannot be created, and poverty cannot be removed without growth. “First and foremost we should aim at a high rate of growth,” he said at the meeting, according to the official release.

Briefing reporters after the Council meeting, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said: “States emphasised greater financial financial devolution from the Centre and greater flexibility in use of funds.”

He also said the Prime Minister announced that the Aayog would constitute three sub-groups of Chief Ministers. One, for recommendations of the 66 Centrally Sponsored Schemes which should be continued, transferred to States and shelved all together. A second sub-group for suggestions on how can the Aayog promote skill development in States. And, finally a third one for evolving a proposal on institutional mechanisms required for ensuring success of his pet project Swachh Bharat by way of integration into everyday life.

The Prime Minister also asked each State to set up two task forces under the aegis of the Aayog--one for focusing on the alleviation of poverty, and the other on agricultural development at the state-level with Central assistance.

The members of the sub-groups will be decided later, after Chief Ministers indicate their preferences.

Mr. Modi also urged States to build and upgrade toilets during the upcoming school vacations with the aim of ensuring that the target of toilets for all schools is achieved. He also suggested that a portion of the funds under the MPLAD and MLALAD schemes can be earmarked for cleanliness-related activities, until 2019.

The interaction was coordinated by Mr. Jaitley, and the opening remarks for the meeting were made by the Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya.

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JD(U) accuses BJP of plotting split in party, BJP hits back

New Delhi: Grappling with a crisis within, JD(U) on Sunday accused BJP of plotting a split in the party, a charge denied by the saffron party which said the entire crisis was triggered by former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's "obsession" for power.

JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi suggested that Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi was working at the BJP's behest and said he had no right to attend the NITI Aayog meeting in the national capital as he no longer enjoyed the confidence of the majority of MLAs after JD(U) lawmakers elected Nitish Kumar as their new leader in Patna on Saturday.

Asked about Manjhi's scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday evening, Tyagi said, "The fact is BJP President Amit Shah is working overtime to engineer a split in our party, like he is doing with TMC. He has failed... " "If the need arises, we will parade 130 MLAs before the governor or even the President," he told PTI.

A belligerent Manjhi has refused to step down from the chief minister's post after terming the party's meeting yesterday "unconstitutional". He is said to be exploring possibility of getting the BJP's support to remain in the top post.

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