Bihar Chief Nitish Kumar today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here for the first time since he ended 17-year-old alliance with BJP nearly two years back over his projection as the Prime Ministerial candidate.
Kumar said he discussed financial issues related to Bihar, particularly in the context of implementation of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations which he said will cause a loss of Rs 50,000 crore to the state.
The PMO said it was a "courtesy call".
Kumar and Modi have not been sharing a good relationship, even when their parties were in alliance. Kumar had refused to share dais with Modi.
When Kumar was the Chief Minister heading BJP-JD(U) coalition, he had called off a dinner for visiting BJP leaders in June 2010 after a photograph of Modi holding hands with him at a BJP national executive had appeared in some local newspapers in the state.
After the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, while Modi became the Prime Minister, Kumar quit as Chief Ministership owning responsibility for the party's crushing defeat in those elections in Bihar as the BJP-led NDA virtually decimated it bagging 31 of 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Kumar had then propped up party colleague Jitan Ram Manjhi as Chief Minister but soon the relations between the two soured.
While JD(U) wanted Manjhi to step down to pave the way for Kumar to become the Chief Minister again, he refused and got tacit support from BJP. Kumar had then accused Modi of being behind Manjhi's rebellion.
Manjhi finally relented and Kumar was back in the saddle.
Emerging from the meeting today, Kumar said he raised the issue of implementation of the Finance Commission recommendations which he contended will lead to an "estimated Rs 50,000 crore loss" to the state.
He said the Centre's share in Centrally-sponsored schemes has been decreased.
"Altogether, it has been a loss to Bihar. That is why I have requested that Bihar should be compensated for this," Kumar told reporters.
"The second issue that I have raised is that there is a question mark now also on the special assistance that Bihar used to get under BRGF (Backward Regions Grant Fund) after the bifurcation of the state in 2000. Our doubts should be resolved. We should get that money and we should keep getting that money even in future," he said.
