Nitish Kumar Should Resign, He Had Promised...: Lalu After Centre Denies Special Status For Bihar

After the Centre ruled out JDU's demand for a Special Category Status for Bihar, RJD took a dig at the NDA ally on its official X handle. RJD supremo, Lalu Prasad Yadav has demanded the CM's resignation for failing to secure the coveted status for the state.

New Delhi/Patna:RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Monday demanded Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's resignation after Centre rejected JDU's demand for Special Category Status for Bihar.

"Nitish Kumar had promised that Bihar will be given a special status but Centre has rejected it. He (Nitish Kumar) should resign. The Central government will have to give us the special status," RJD supremo said after reaching Delhi today.

Yadav's statement comes after the Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, in a written response in the Lok Sabha on the first day of the Monsoon session, said, "The case for granting Special Category Status to Bihar is not made out".

Chaudhary said that the Special Category Status request was earlier considered by an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) and it submitted its report on March 30, 2012. The IMG has found that based on the existing criteria of the National Development Council (NDC), the case for special status for Bihar is not made out, he said.

Chaudhury was responding to JDU MP Ramprit Mandal, who asked about the government's plans to provide special status to Bihar and the other most backward states.

Raising this issue at the all-party meeting, JDU Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha had said that either the Central government give Bihar a special state status or arrange for a special package.

A Special Category Status ensures more support to a state for its economic growth and industrialisation. The concept was first introduced by the 5th Finance Commission in 1969.

Sharing the official statement on its X handle, RJD took a dig at both the Central government and the JDU, which is an NDA ally, saying Nitish Kumar can continue his hypocritical politics on special state status.

"Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar shamelessly gave Bihar the 'special state' toy! If not special state status, give anything to Bihar in the name of special package! - JDU bowed down to BJP saying this. "Nitish Kumar should resign immediately, he had said that he will get special state status but the centre refused!" RJD tweeted.

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