The Union government cited an inter-ministerial group report prepared in 2012 to assert in Lok Sabha on Monday that a case for granting special category status to Bihar is not made out.
In a cryptic response to central government's refusal to grant special category status to Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and supremo of key Prime Minister Narendra National-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) said "You will get to know slowly". However, later, Nitish Kumar hailed the focus on Bihar in the Union Budget 2024 presented on Tuesday.
Bihar Chief Minister-led Janata Dal United (JDU) had a crucial contribution to NDA's majority in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections 2024, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could not hit the majority mark of 272 alone, something it had done in the 2019 general polls.
Notably, after the Lok Sabha polls, the JD (U) had held a national executive meeting where a resolution was passed raising a fresh demand for special status.
In a reply to questions from journalists at the Bihar Assembly on Tuesday, Chief Minuster Nitish Kumar said: "You will get to know all things slowly, and slowly [sab kuchh dhire dhire jaan jaaiyega]".
With a smile then, the veteran leader then rushed inside the House, waving at the posse of journalists that stood trying to read his impregnable mind.
The Union government cited an inter-ministerial group report prepared in 2012 to assert in Lok Sabha on Monday that a case for granting special category status to Bihar is not made out.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha on the first day of the monsoon session, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said special category status was granted in the past by the National Development Council (NDC) to some states that were characterised by a number of features necessitating special consideration.
These included hilly and difficult terrain, low population density or sizeable share of tribal population, strategic location along borders with neighbouring countries, economic and infrastructural backwardness and non-viable nature of state finances, he said in reply to a question asked by JD (U) member Rampreet Mandal.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday hailed the focus on Bihar in the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, claiming it "meets " their "demand for special assistance" if grant of special status "was not possible because of practical difficulties".
State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, who formerly held the finance portfolio, expressed hope that the budgetary outlay of Rs 26,000 crore would speed up growth "in all sectors".
Centre on Tuesday proposed an outlay of Rs 26,000 crore for various road projects in Bihar. In her Budget for 2024-25, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Union government will arrange financial assistance to Bihar through aid from multilateral development agencies.
The government will also set up airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure in Bihar, she said.
The Centre will also formulate plan 'Purvodaya' for all-round development of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.