No case made out for granting special category status to Bihar: Government in Lok Sabha

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 which were characterised by a number of features necessitating special consideration.

New Delhi: The Union Government on Monday informed the Lok Sabha that the special status to Bihar cannot be granted as per the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) report 2012, dealing a big blow to Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (U), a key ally of the ruling BJP.

In response to a query by JDU MP Ramprit Mandal over the special status in Bihar, MoS Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that the Inter-Ministerial Group had discussed the demand for Special Status to Bihar in its meeting, but that based on the existing criteria, Bihar did not make the cut.

Mandal in his unstarred question asked the finance ministry if it proposes to grant Special Status to Bihar to “promote economic growth and industrialization”. In response, Chaudhary said that 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 hilly and difficult terrain, low population density and/or sizable share of tribal population, strategic location along borders with neighboring countries, economic and infrastructural backwardness and non-viable nature of State finances. The decision was taken based on an integrated consideration of all the factors listed above and the peculiar situation of the State,” Chaudhary added in his response.

“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,” he added.

The response could open a can of worms for the BJP, in Bihar, a state where the state assembly polls are due next year. The matter could also lead to the widening of the fissures in the NDA in both the state as well as the Centre. On Sunday, at the all-party meeting called for by the ruling BJP, the demand for Special Status was put forth by two key NDA allies – the JDU as well as the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party – as well as key INDIA constituent Rashtriya Janata Dal.

Soon after the news broke, former chief minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav demanded the resignation of CM Nitish Kumar. “Nitish Kumar should resign immediately, he has said that he will get special state status! Now the Centre has refused!,” Yadav told reporters in Patna.

BJP leader Giriraj Singh alleged that when Lalu Yadav was called the ‘kingmaker’ and had close ties with Congress, he could have gotten special status for Bihar, but he did not do so. “At a time when Nitish Kumar is the Chief Minister (of Bihar) and Modi is the Prime Minister, no efforts will be left and the treasury will be opened for Bihar’s development,” Singh said.