Prashant Kishor hits back at Piyush Goyal over remark on Bihar

New Delhi: Political activist from Bihar Prashant Kishor hit back at Union Minister Piyush Goyal for the remark "Inka bas chale toh desh ko Bihar hi bana de" which was later withdrawn by the minister.

Responding to the statement, Kishor said, "Today the word Bihari is like abusing. It is a word that has become an abuse. When the minister (Piyush Goyal) said it, you came to know, whereas in other states Biharis mean idiots, labourers. The minister should know that Bihar has been a land of knowledge. Gods have also got knowledge by coming here. Today the leaders here have made the system a factory to make labourers. The minister who said this should explain that Bihar has given 39 out of 40 MPs to the NDA in the Parliament."

He added, "When the Prime Minister comes here, he bows down to the public and talks sweetly with the people and takes votes. Then his ministers are making fun of the same Bihar. This shows their mentality. Now this is not my concern what are the ministers saying, my concern is how to make Bihar so beautiful that no one can make fun of it".

Goyal made the remark on December 20 when RJD leader Manoj Jha was speaking during a discussion on the Appropriation Bill seeking Parliament's nod for additional spending.

As he said the government should devote equal attention to the poor and corporate houses, Goyal responded by saying "inka bas chale to desh ko Bihar bana dein (if they have their way, they will turn the country into Bihar)."

On Thursday, Manoj Jha said an insult to Bihar is an insult to the entire country, and demanded that Goyal apologise for his remark.

After the Opposition members from Bihar protested against his "objectionable" remark about their state, Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal was forced to withdraw his statement.

"I withdraw my statement" Goyal said in the House, adding that he had no intention to hurt anyone.