Patna, Feb 19 (PTI) Terming the Jharkhand government’s decision to withdraw Bhojpuri and Magahi from the list of regional languages of Dhanbad and Bokaro distrcits as ‘surprising’, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday described the decision as "not in the interest of the state (Jharkhand)”. The Jharkhand government on Friday withdrew Bhojpuri and Maghi from the list of regional languages of Dhanbad and Bokaro districts amid widespread protests. Talking to reporters in New Delhi on Saturday, Kumar said, “this decision is very surprising. Do Bhojpuri and Magahi belong to just one state ? Bhojpuri is spoken in UP too. If someone is doing this, I don"t think it is being done in the interest of the state. I don"t know why they have done so ?”. Bihar and Jharkhand are brothers, he said adding even though "Jharkhand was separated from us, we only have love for them." The Department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Rajbhasha withdrew the notification on Friday that allowed these two languages in matric and intermediate-level for appearing in recruitment examinations of district-level posts, conducted by the Jharkhand State Staff Selection Commission. People in both the districts have been agitating under the banner of the `Jharkhandi Bhasa Bachao Sangharsh Samiti", stating that these languages were not widely spoken in the region. Bihar CM, however, refused to comment over the controversy shrouding the use of ‘Swastik’ symbol on the top of the pillar that is being built in front of the main gate of the Bihar assembly to commemorate the centenary celebrations of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha building. “The Speaker of the Bihar legislative assembly is the appropriate authority to react on this. This is not an issue at all”, said the CM. It may be recalled that main Opposition party in Bihar- Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-has questioned the decision of the Nitish Kumar government to inscribe the Swastika mark on the proposed centenary pillar in the premises of the Assembly in place of Ashok Chakra. Reacting to this, RJD leader, Tejashwi Yadav, on Friday said, “The use of Swastika mark in place of Ashok Chakra on the centenary pillar, is against the secular fabric of the country”. PTI PKD JRC JRC