PM calls Nitish, CM seeks 'special' status for Bihar

Congress continues to blow hot and cold towards Nitish Kumar. Just a day after questioning the "secular" credentials of the Bihar chief minister and accusing him of misrepresenting facts on flood relief, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reached out to Kumar yet againSingh phoned the Bihar CM in the afternoon to offer an explanation for the "communal" swipe he took at Kumar in Ludhiana on Sunday, and readily conceded the latter's demand that Centre should not ask for the return of Rs 1,000 crore it lent to Bihar to deal with last year's huge Kosi floods.

Encouraged by Congress's willingness to go to new lengths to woo him, the chief minister was ready to raise the ante higher by demanding "special category" status for Bihar — a tag which would give several concessions to the poor state.

Approached by reporters, the Bihar CM strongly denied whether PM's dig at him figured in the discussion, emphasising that he was focused more on the "interest of the state rather than my partisan considerations".

Sources close to JD(U), however, said that the PM started by explaining the context of his attack on Kumar for shaking hands with Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi at an NDA rally in Ludhiana on Sunday. He stressed that his remark came in response to a question and that it should be seen in the context of electioneering, sources said.

The yo-yo pattern underscored the Congress's anxiety to steal Kumar from the rival BJP-led combine, as well as the bind it finds itself over it. In fact, the swift U-turn left even seasoned Congress managers surprised.

The twists are only illustrative of the dilemma that the Congress is facing as it faces the prospect of falling short of the majority mark with existing UPA partners. The party is wary of dumping its existing allies from Bihar straightaway even as it finds itself stalemated because Kumar does not seem to be in a mood, at least not immediately, to say "I do".

Congress sources confirmed that political purpose was what led the PM to place the call to the Bihar CM.

On Sunday, Singh had said that Kumar's bonhomie with Modi had caused him to reverse his assessment that the Bihar chief minister was a "secular" politician. A stung Kumar responded by accusing the PM of acting like the "vice-chancellor of university of secularism".

On Tuesday, however, the chief minister chose to be strategic. He accepted the explanation but only to move on to his issue of the Centre's demand for Rs 1,000 crore. He insisted on a reconsideration and the PM, who had only on Sunday charged him with distorting facts, readily agreed. "I have already asked the cabinet secretary to look into the issue afresh," Kumar quoted the PM as saying.

While disagreeing with the suggestion that Singh's call reflected his growing political clout, Kumar did not make much effort to mask the upper hand he is having because of Congress's sudden interest in him. "It is a matter related to the rights of Bihar. It is not my personal issue. The handling of the issue by the Union home ministry shows insensitivity on the part of the Centre," he said.

Questioning Centre's estimate of the amount required for relief and reconstruction in the area ravaged by Kosi, he said the Centre must pay for reconstruction of infrastructure.

While Kumar has strongly denied any intent to switch camps, Congress's hopes are grounded in his unease with the hardline Hindutva represented by Modi as well as his aspiration to overcome the dependence on the BJP, which with 55 MLAs helps him lead the coalition.

Congress's gameplan for Kumar also faces hurdles in its own reluctance to cut off ties with the chief minister's political foes, Lalu Prasad and Ramvilas Paswan, as well as the signs of its recovery among Muslims and upper castes, two constituencies that the Bihar chief minister is equally keen on.

Importantly, the focus on the `cause of Bihar' can help Kumar get around any constraint he may face in having to dump the BJP. The CM's image as a development-oriented person has been a great draw, and his justifying a realignment may not suffer from credibility deficit.

In fact, the CM has now set his sights on "special category" status for the state. The demand will be formally raised on Friday when Meghnad Desai, renowned economist, is to launch a book.