Patna: Opposition MPs from Bihar, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), staged protests outside Parliament on Friday, demanding special category status for the state. Their outrage has been mounting since the Centre rejected this long-standing demand last month.
Shouting slogans like “grant special category status to Bihar” and “stop cheating Bihar,” the MPs accused the Prime Minister (PM) of reneging on a promise made to the people of the state during previous election campaigns.Independent MP from Purnia, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav also joined the protest.
RJD MP from Patliputra, Misa Bharti, said the PM should apologise to the people of Bihar for breaking his promise. “At one point, chief minister Nitish Kumar had raised this demand, and the PM, too, during an election rally in Bihar, had promised to grant both special status and a special package to Bihar. But now the PM doesn’t remember what he had said earlier. This is what happens when there are double-engine govts in the state and at the Centre,” Bharti told reporters.
Regarding the Centre’s financial package announcement, Bharti criticised it as inadequate and unclear on the timeline for its release. “This is cheating with the people of Bihar and the PM should apologise,” she said.
The demand for grant of special status to the state is not new. Both Houses of the state assembly have passed resolutions supporting it and in November last year, the Nitish Kumar cabinet also sought special category status. However, in a setback for the state, the BJP-led NDA govt ruled out this status last month, citing a 2012 inter-ministerial group (IMG) report. “The IMG found that based on existing NDC criteria, the case for special category status for Bihar is not made out,” Union minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

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