Patna,(BiharTimes): Former minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet, Chandra Mohan Rai, has said that the political parties opposed to the BJP might make a poll issue the Centre’s line of thinking on the National Highways running through Bihar.

In a letter written to the Union surface transport minister, Nitin Gadkari, he said that the NHs in Bihar are in a ‘pitiable condition’ as the work on all of them selected for conversion to four-lane roads is not in progress––of course barring the portion of East-West corridor.

The letter said even the 30km portion of East-West corridor in Gopalganj has not been completed.The former minister said that the work on most of the NHs selected for conversion into four-lane is at a standstill, as the commissioned contractors have given up the work for various reasons and, therefore, the policy to convert all NHs into two-lane roads would be more feasible.

The National Highways fall in the Central List while the State Highways in the State List of the Constitution.According to him this move would thwart any attempt of the ruling party and parties supporting it to make the Centre’s handling of NHs a political issue during the assembly election.