Centre would have acted,had Lalu threatened to quit: Nitish

Patna, Nov 15 (UNI) Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said the Centre would have prevailed over the Maharashtra government for action against those, who indulged in attacks on people of Bihar, had Railaway Minister Lalu Prasad threatened to quit the Cabinet over the issue.

In a letter to Mr Prasad, Mr Kumar said, '' The Centre could have prompted the Vilasrao Government to take action against the disruptive elements, if Mr Prasad threatened to resign. '' In the wake of unabated violence against the people of Bihar living in Maharashtra, he had called an all party meeting last month and as per its decision, an all party delegation from Bihar had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene and ensure safety and security of the Hindi-speaking people living in that state.

''The Prime Minister had assured us to take concrete step in this connection but despite the passage of about three weeks, no action has been taken to ensure the safety and security of people of Bihar in Maharashtra, ''Mr Kumar said.

Mr Prasad as powerful ally of the UPA government at the Centre should have forced the Union government to take action against the Vilasrao Deshmukh government for the safety of people of Bihar, Mr Kumar tated.

''By making an appeal for en-masse resignation of all MPs, MLAs and MLCs of Bihar, you have tried to create a circumstance for imposition of the President's Rule in Bihar, while demands are being made to take action against the Maharashtra governmemnt, '' the Chief Minister pointed out.

Mere threatening to come out from the Ministry by Mr Prasad was enough for the Centre to prevail over the Vilasrao government to ensure the security of people of Bihar, he asserted.

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