’Bihar ko nahin milega’: Modi govt rejects Nitish Kumar’s special status demand; Lalu’s RJD raps ‘hypocritical politics’

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government on Monday, July 22, ruled out ally Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's demand for Special Category Status to Bihar. On the eve of the Budget 2024, the government cited an inter-ministerial group report prepared in 2012 to assert that a case for granting Special Category Status to Bihar is not made out.

The Narendra Modi government's rejection of the demand for Special Category Status came a day after the JD(U), the Bharatiya Janata Party's ally from Bihar, demanded the status for the backward state. 

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha on the first day of the Monsoon session, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said "the case for Special Category Status for Bihar is not made out".

"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," the minister said.

Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) shared the official statement on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) to take a swipe at the NDA ally.

“Bihar ko nahin milega Vishesh rajya ka darja (Bihar will not get special state status!)” the tweet by the RJD read. “Nitish Kumar and JDU can now comfortably enjoy power at the Centre and continue doing hypocritical politics on 'special state status'!” the tweet added.

National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally Lok Janshakti Party MP Shambhavi Choudhary said, “Special Status was a term that existed until the Planning Commission. After the formation of NITI Aayog, nobody was provided anything under Special Category Status but states have definitely received special package that would speed up development.”

"It is our demand and we will keep demanding it. We have a lot of hopes with the upcoming Budget...The manner in which Bihar has stood strongly with the NDA, NDA too would stand strong with Bihar in the time to come and Bihar would receive special package....", Shambhavi Choudhary added.

What grants Special Category Status for states in India?

The National Development Council (NDC) has previously granted special category status to some states characterised by features necessitating special consideration.

These include:

-Hilly and difficult terrain

-Low population density

-Sizeable share of tribal population

-Strategic location along borders with neighbouring countries

-Economic and infrastructural backwardness

-Non-viable nature of state finances

There are 11 states at present which have been granted Special Category Status – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand.

Why Modi govt rejected Special Category Status for Bihar?

In 2012, when the Congress-led UPA was in power, a proposal to grant Bihar Special Category Status was tabled in Parliament. However, it was found that the Nitish Kumar-led state did not satisfy the criterion for being granted a Special Category Status.

The government, in the past, argued that the 14th Finance Commission report had ruled out the possibility of any more states being granted the status, which includes tax relief and higher central funding for the beneficiary states.