Patna, Dec 13 (IANS): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Tuesday that criminals associated with political parties cannot escape from law and reiterated his government's resolve not to compromise on rule of law and justice in the state.

"It is my government's duty to ensure punishment to criminals, howsoever powerful they may be. The Grand Alliance government in Bihar is taking all measures to control crime," the Chief Minister said. 

"There is rule of law in Bihar and it will continue," he said at a function here.

Nitish Kumar said the crime graph in Bihar has gone down but even a single crime incident gets a lot of attention.

He said the Bihar government is committed to social justice. "We have given 50 per cent reservation to women in Panchayati Raj institutions and Bihar is the first state in the country to do so," he said.

The Chief Minister said, "The government in the last 10 years has worked on ground to increase literacy among women and helped them become self-reliant."

Nitish Kumar said he had publicly supported demonetisation announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 but will now wait and watch till the completion of 50-day time that Modi asked for to normalise the cash crunch situation.