Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday dismissed speculation about a rift in the state’s ruling coalition while reasserting his support for the Centre’s demonetisation campaign, PTI reported. The Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, who ally with Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) have been critical of the centre’s move. Kumar, however referred to the exercise against black money as a “courageous move”, though he said poor execution had inconvenienced the common man.

Kumar said, “While supporting demonetisation in principle, I, with equal strength, criticise the poor arrangements for its implementation due to which the common man is facing hardships.” The JD(U) leader alluded to former Prime Minister Manmohan’s Singh’s speech in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, highlighting the impact of demonetisation, and said even Singh did not criticise the spirit of the campaign.

On the alliance with the Congress and RJD, Kumar said, “The grand alliance is only in Bihar and on issues concerning Bihar. On issues outside the state, every party is privy to its own viewpoint. There is no confusion or fissures in the coalition.” The Congress has accused the Narendra Modi-led government of triggering “financial anarchy” in the country.