The thank-you letter written by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for yet another Central gift to the state — assured coal supply for a power plant — is being seen as the JD(U) stalwart’s likely ploy to cut down ally BJP’s fighting spirits a little.
Mr Kumar’s letter, sent on Sunday, heightened the lingering sense of unease among Bihar’s BJP leaders caused by the JD(U)’s unexpected alignment during the presidential polls despite his subsequent support to the NDA vice-presidential candidate bringing some relief.
The thank-you letter was written on Saturday when the BJP’s national spokesman and newly elevated deputy leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ravi Shankar Prasad, was in Patna and said the BJP would raise the issue of Bihar facing discrimination in coal linkage in the Upper House. The latest exchange of letters between Mr Kumar and Dr Singh also led to further speculations about the Centre’s recent bounties showered on Bihar having been a direct result of Mr Kumar’s “politically tactical” support to UPA presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee and the impression of a new political scenario the move could have created. Kumar’s thank-you letter was in reply to Dr Singh’s letter to him informing the coal ministry’s decision to link Bihar’s only state-sector power project with a coal block.
The letter was written on July 19.