In a surge of political discourse, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s recent allegations against the former Congress government at the Centre have brought to light a longstanding issue. Kumar claimed that his request for the establishment of a Central University in Gandhi’s Champaran had fallen on deaf ears. In a similar vein, his cabinet colleague, Ashok Kumar Choudhary, has now joined the chorus of criticism.
Choudhary, who oversees the building construction department, took to the media in Patna to voice his discontent. He pointed fingers at the previous Congress regime for neglecting Bihar’s plea for a special category status. However, in a somewhat surprising twist, Choudhary also criticized the Narendra Modi government for adopting a similar stance.
“It is evident that, since 2004, no central government has shown any inclination to address our state government’s long-standing demands,” Choudhary remarked during his media appearance. He stressed that this unmet demand has hampered Bihar’s growth potential. “Neither the Manmohan Singh government nor the BJP government at the Centre extended any olive branch, be it special category status or financial assistance,” Choudhary lamented. He emphasized that the state government had sought special funding, but the request went unanswered.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar initially raised the issue of granting special category status to Bihar shortly after his victory in the 2005 assembly polls, following 15 years of RJD rule. His government submitted memorandums to the Centre and, in 2010, initiated signature campaigns that garnered support from one crore people. This grassroots movement culminated in state-wide rallies, including a significant gathering at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan in November 2012. Kumar even took the issue to the national stage with a rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan in March 2013, yet this demand remains unfulfilled to this day.
Interestingly, Bihar’s demand for special status inspired several other states, including Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Rajasthan, to seek similar recognition. This followed the grant of special status to 11 states, which included Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, and Uttarakhand.
However, as of December 11, 2018, a statement in the Lok Sabha by the Minister of State for Home Affairs clarified that, “following the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, the Special Category States cease to exist, and thus, no special category status has been granted to any state.”
