Why Bihar hasn't been granted Special Category Status: Congress asks PM Modi

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also asked what happened to the 1.25 lakh crore package the prime minister had promised in 2015.

New Delhi: The Congress attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday by posing questions to him on Bihar, asking why the state hasn't been granted Special Category Status as he had promised.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh posed three questions to Modi on his visit to Jamui to mark the Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas.

Why hasn't Bihar been granted Special Category Status as the prime minister had promised, Ramesh asked.

"In 2014, when campaigning for his current position, Mr. Modi effectively promised special category status for Bihar. As per the Centre's own Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report, Bihar ranks as the poorest state in India, and 52% of the state's population lacks access to requisite health, education, and living standards," Ramesh said.

In 2013, the Raghuram Rajan Committee recommended a new methodology for devolving funds that is based on a multi-dimensional index to account for a state's economic backwardness, he said.

"Ten years later, what is the Modi Sarkar waiting for? Why has the non-biological PM forgotten the people of Bihar? After 10 years in power at the Centre, and almost 20 years in power in Bihar, why has the Modi Sarkar failed to deliver Special Category Status in the state?" Ramesh said in his post on X.

The Congress leader also asked what happened to the 1.25 lakh crore package the prime minister had promised in 2015.

"At a rally leading up to Assembly Elections in 2015, Mr. Modi had declared 'I am here today to honour my promise... how much do you want? Rs 50,000 crore, 60,000, 70,000, 75,000, 80,000? I am announcing a package of '‚1.25 lakh crore', to which his new old ally Nitish Kumar had responded, 'was he bidding for Bihar?' In either case, only Rs 27,000 crore was sanctioned by 2017, after which no updates have been provided on the 'transformative' package," Ramesh said.

"While the non-biological PM had promised to change the 'face and fate' of Bihar, all that has changed is Nitish Kumar's alliance partners. Bihar's youth remain unemployed and the state continues to lag behind on most development indicators," he said.

Can the PM tell where the remaining Rs 1 lakh crore has disappeared, he asked.

"Is this just another feather in the hat of the Bharatiya Jumla Party?" Ramesh said.

He further asked whether the PM will heed Jamui ex-MP Chirag Paswan's call to revisit the ill-advised Agnipath scheme.

"The Modi Sarkar has repeatedly betrayed Bihar's youth. The youth have consistently voiced their opposition to the Modi Sarkar's ill-conceived Agnipath Scheme. Even if we ignore the unrealistic expectation of preparing young soldiers for battle within 6 months, how can we ignore the scheme's impact on their long-term job prospects?" he said.

Where will young recruits go after spending four years of their prime in the army, Ramesh asked.

"In a country that has been rocked by rampant unemployment under the BJP's mismanagement of the economy, what options do the youth have?" he said.

The Congress Party has repeatedly promised to scrap the Agnipath scheme upon coming to power, he said.

Even Chirag Paswan, a minister in his government and the ex-MP of Jamui, has called on the PM to revisit the scheme, he said.

Does the PM stand by his government's flagship Agnipath program despite the popular protests against it, Ramesh asked.