One month into Nitish Kumar’s new NDA stint, JD(U) rakes up Bihar special status demand amid BJP tightrope

Despite his frequent political flip-flops, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar is out to remind everyone that there is one thing he has stood by steadfastly — the demand of “special category” status for Bihar from the Centre.

On February 23, the CM watched approvingly from the Treasury benches of the state Assembly as Energy Minister and senior JD(U) leader Bijendra Prasad Yadav raised the demand on behalf of the new NDA government.

A month ago, Nitish, then a part of Opposition INDIA bloc, was raking up the same demand – which he has been making for over a decade – at the birth centenary of socialist icon and former CM Karpoori Thakur in Patna.

Energy Minister told the House: “I take the opportunity to request the Prime Minister to consider a special economic package for Bihar. We have achieved a lot from our limited resources, and have immense potential to produce energy from air, water and solar sources. If we get a boost from the Centre, we will be able to pull more people out of poverty.”

It was the first time the JD(U) revived a special category demand for Bihar since returning to the NDA fold nearly a month ago.

A senior JD(U) leader said, “The Centre has to find a way for Bihar, which is at the cusp of industrial growth. If we get the special economic status, we can provide tax waivers to industries investing in the state. It is true that we have not been able to get the special category status either from the UPA government or the NDA government because of rules not allowing it. But a special economic package can still be given to Bihar. Like Gujarat, we too can then create special economic zones. Our recent success with leather, textile, ethanol, IT and start-ups in several fields, has given us the