Patna,(Bihar): Though the Bharatiya Janata Party launched a rail roko agitation on February28 to press for the special category status to Bihar its prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, did not mention it even once during his speech in Muzaffarpur on March 3.

Analysts are surprised as to how can he ignore the issue when all the BJP leaders of Bihar are repeatedly claiming that the state would get the special category status once Modi becomes the prime minister of the country.

The Bihar BJP took the initiative when on February 21 chief minister Nitish Kumar made an appeal to the people to observe Bihar bandh on March 2. The saffron party hurriedly gave a call to rail-roko on February 28.

However, why is it that NaMo himself remained silent on the issue? Even in the Hunkar rally day on October 27 he did not make any promise on the special category status. But then the party had not given any call for rail roko just before that rally, so nobody expected him to say anything on the issue on October 27.

A political observer, who wished not to be quoted, said that the silence of Modi exposes the double speak of the party on the issue. After all it was the BJP and Janata Dal (United), which were in power in November 2000 when Bihar was bifurcated and new state of Jharkhand was created. They then opposed the special category status and special package for Bihar as well as Jharkhand.