In a strongly worded, partly sarcastic letter, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has once again reminded Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal of the wholesome suitability of Motihari as the site for the proposed Central University of Bihar (CUB) instead of Gaya as chosen by the Centre.
With the lingering dispute between the Bihar government and the Centre over the CUB’s location having already caused an east-west divide in the state as earlier feared by Kumar, his letter makes a powerful pitch for the northern town of Motihari, urging Mr Sibal to agree to the Bihar government’s demand.
“I am shocked to find that our desire to pay homage to Bapu and ensure inclusive development in Bihar is perceived as our non-cooperation, and that our efforts are being seen as political,” wrote Mr Kumar in his three-page letter dated March 22, which was released to the media three days later on Sunday.
This lapse of time seems deliberate as Mr Kumar begins his letter complaining how Mr Sibal’s March 9 letter on this issue reached him by fax on March 12 and in original on March 19 while its contents were published in the media earlier.
Dubbing Mr Sibal’s rejection of Motihari as his “negative understanding,” Mr Kumar said there was no reason the state government could agree with it. “You said the quality of a central university depends largely on its location and the quality of the location depends on its air link. Our demand for the CUB in Motihari is not merely our promise to the people there but it aims at Bihar’s inclusive development,” he said.
Mr Kumar said his government was ready to provide land for the CUB free if it were a pre-condition for having a representative of the state government in the site-selection panel. “But it seems our offer of free land is being ignored out of fears about a difference of opinion. If the Centre uses its right to select a site as per the people’s wishes, it would reflect its commitments for democratic values,” said the letter, ending with hope that Mr Sibal would give up his “no-Motihari” insistence.