Patna: Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday claimed that there was a "trust deficit" among the constituents of Bihar's ruling grand alliance over issues like demonetisation and their prime ministerial candidate for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and it has hit governance in the state.
"A trust deficit prevails among the grand alliance constituents over demonetisation, the prime ministerial candidate for the 2019 General Elections among other issues and the governance has become a casualty of it," he told reporters at his official residence."
"One could feel tension, lack of trust and deep division in the RJD, JD(U) and Congress with each of them trying to outwit others," Modi said.
"There is a serious difference of opinion between Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad over demonetisation as the chief minister has supported the move, but the latter was against it and staged protests in Bihar.
"An angry RJD chief had allowed his senior leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh to attack Kumar for supporting the note ban," the former deputy chief minister of Bihar alleged.
"It should surprise none if the chief minister retracts from his consistent stand in favour of demonetisation and start opposing the measure after December 30 over the implementation aspect of it to save his government," he said.
Modi alleged that Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav and Congress leader and education minister Ashok Chaudhary were "deliberately" staying away from the chief minister's ongoing "Nischay Yatra" in Bihar.
He hit out at the RJD supremo for opposing demonetisation and the proposed crackdown on benami property alleging that Lalu Prasad, his kin and party leaders had a reason to fear as "they had amassed huge unaccounted wealth during the RJD's 15 years' rule in Bihar".
The senior BJP leader also claimed oneupmanship between Congress and JD(U) with the former projecting its national vice-president Rahul Gandhi as a "natural" candidate for the PM's post in 2019 general elections whereas JD(U) wanted to project Nitish Kumar as a national alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Similarly, the dispute between RJD and JD(U) was there for all to see as the latter has decided to abstain from RJD's statewide demonstration against demonetisation, he said.
On the impact of demonetisation in Bihar, Modi said there was least impact of the scrapping of high-denomination currency notes as legal tender.
"There is no impact of demonetisation in farm sector as the farmers are able to purchase seeds, fertilisers and other necessary supplements to sow their crops... The farmers has sown crops in 16 lakh hectares of land this rabi season same as last year," he said.
Modi asked the state government to promote 'less cash' economy and digital technology for collection of taxes and said it would not only streamline the economy, but also generate substantiate revenue to the extent of compensating losses arising out of enforcement of liqour ban earlier this year in Bihar.
