New Delhi,: A JD(U) MP on Tuesday demanded that the government accord the special category state status to Bihar to bring it at par with others on economic parameters.
During a debate on the second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2021-22 in Lok Sabha, Sunil Kumar Pintu said Bihar needs to be given the special category status for the growth and development of India.
Citing a recent NITI Aayog report, he said Bihar was ranked the poorest state in the country in the first Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).
The Bihar chief minister has repeatedly requested the Centre for the grant of the special category status, not a special package, so that the state can attract industries, he said.
Industries would come only when the government accords the special category status to Bihar, he added.
The JD(U) is part of the central government.
Following the release of the report, the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar made a fresh pitch for the grant of special category status to the state, a demand it has been making for the “past 10-12 years”.
In a letter to NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar, the state’s Minister for Planning and Implementation Bijendra Yadav asserted that Bihar “fulfilled all the criteria” set for grant of special status.
The opposition latched on to the NITI Aayog report to rubbish the claim of “rapid development” of the state since Nitish Kumar’s ascent to power.