Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday praised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the progress the state had made in recent years. Speaking at a function at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Patna,in which the Bihar CM was also present,Sibal turned to Nitish Kumar and said: Aapki shali aesi hai ki aapko Supreme Court ka lawyer hona chahiye (You have a style good enough to make you a Supreme Court lawyer. Sibal laid the foundation stone of a permanent IIT campus at Bihta,30 km from Patna. IIT,Patna,which started from a temporary campus in 2008,will have its own building and a 500-acre campus at Bihta in three years. Stating that the Nitish Kumar government had made progress in the field of education,Sibal said its role went beyond availing land for institutes. Over 700 universities will be linked with a national knowledge network. Asking Nitish Kumar not to insist on setting up a Central university at Motihari in East Champaran district,Sibal said the CM should provide more options. Locational viability is one of the several criteria for setting up a new Central university in Bihar and the state government should be flexible on it,Sibal said. Kumar had earlier said the Centre should set up the university at Motihari in order to pay tribute to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi,who had launched the Civil Disobedience Movement against the British rule from Champaran in 1917. Champaran has been the karma bhumi of Mahatma Gandhi and therefore needed to treasured and developed as a hub of various activities,including education, Kumar said. Explain unused NREGS funds: Paswan to Nitish The Opposition in Bihar has lifted its self-imposed six months silence against the Nitish Kumar government with LJP president Ramvilas Paswan asking the Chief Minister why the state could not spend over Rs 1,900 crore NREGS funds between 2007 and 2010. Speaking to The Indian Express,the LJP president said the Union Rural Development Minister told the Rajya Sabha on February 22 that Bihar had not been able to spend Rs 471.66 crore MNREGA funds in 2007-08,Rs 871.38 crore in 2008-09 and Rs 490.83 crore in 2009-10. Were rebutting. Let him come out with explanation.
