The Centre has ruled out any plans for special status for Bihar, which was one of the core demands of NDA ally - Janata Dal United. In a written response to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said "case for Special Category Status for Bihar is not made out".
Here's a look at what the Minister of State's reply said -
"The Special Category Status for plan assistance was granted in the past by the National Development Council (NDC) to some States that were characterized by a number of features necessitating special consideration. These features included (i) hilly and difficult terrain, (ii) low population density and/or sizeable share of tribal population, (iii) strategic location along borders with neighbouring countries, (iv) economic and infrastructural backwardness and (v) non-viable nature of State finances."
"Earlier, the request of Bihar for Special Category Status was considered by an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) which submitted its Report on 30th March, 2012. The IMG came to the finding that based on existing NDC criteria, the case for Special Category Status for Bihar is not made out."
Along with JD(U), the Telugu Desam Party led by Chandrababu Naidu also joined hands with the BJP, which failed to secure a majority in the general elections earlier this year.
Bihar's Main Opposition Hits Out At JD(U)
After the Centre ruled out any plans for special status, Bihar's main opposition party the Rashtriya Janata Dal has taken a swipe at the ruling JD(U).
Taking to X, the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led party called for Nitish Kumar to resign as the Chief Minister of the state.
The demand for special status was also raised by the Janta Dal members at the all-party meet on Sunday ahead of the budget session.
Along with the RJD, BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) also called on the demand for special status during the all party meet.
