Union Minister of State Anupriya Patel, Ramdas Athawale and JD(U) MP Dileshwar Kamait during the all-party meeting, at Parliament House in New Delhi on July 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

The Janata Dal (United), a key BJP ally which heads the government in Bihar, has strongly argued for a special financial package for the State to be granted during the Budget Session of Parliament that begins from July 22, since the government has already ruled out the grant of special category status. The JD(U) made its demand at Sunday’s all-party meeting.

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However, the BJP’s other major ally, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is in power in Andhra Pradesh remained ambivalent on the issue, only seeking financial support from the Centre on various “legacy” issues dogging the State.

According to sources, back-channel talks are on between the BJP and its allies on this issue. With Bihar going to the polls in a year, the JD(U) has told the BJP in no uncertain terms that Bihar must get significant financial aid from the Centre for the ruling National Democratic Alliance to have a fair shot in next year’s Assembly election.

Reciprocity expected

The JD(U) already made a concession for the BJP, climbing down from its long-standing demand for special category status only. A resolution was passed at the JD(U)‘s last national executive meeting in Delhi, stating that Bihar needs either a special category status or a special financial package. The JD(U) now expects a reciprocal gesture from the BJP.

It was JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha who raised the issue during the all-party meeting. “We reiterated our demand for special category status in the meeting. Our leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has addressed public rallies from Gandhi Maidan to Ramlila ground on the issue. We also said that if on some technical grounds, they are unable to accord Bihar this status, they should grant a special package. We hope that in the upcoming Budget, the government will consider it,” Mr. Jha said.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president and Union Minister Chirag Paswan also raised the same demand at the all-party meet.

YSRCP-TDP tussle

Unlike the JD(U), the TDP did not explicitly spell out its demand for “special category status” or a “special package” for Andhra Pradesh, but spoke at length on the precarious economic condition that the State finds itself in. The TDP’s equivocation on the issue gave a handle to its political rivals, the YSR Congress Party, which has framed special category status as the “only solution for the development of Andhra Pradesh.”

“We want enough time, so that all the financial issues concerning Andhra Pradesh can be placed in Parliament. It is not a question of this or that demand. There are several legacy issues. We will be presenting a white paper on the dire financial condition that the State finds itself in so that every political party understands our situation,” Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, the TDP’s parliamentary party leader told The Hindu.

Slamming the TDP’s attitude, YSRCP leader Vijay Sai Reddy told journalists that he had raised the need for “special category status” for Andhra Pradesh during the all-party meet. “We have been demanding special category status. It is not a new demand; we have been raising it right from the day it was promised by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha. It is the only solution for the development of Andhra Pradesh. The TDP ignoring the issue and asking for an incentive or additional funds is not acceptable,” he said.

‘No more special category States’

The Biju Janata Dal also raised the demand for special category status for Odisha during the all-party meeting. BJD leader Sasmit Patra said that was a two-decade-old demand that Odisha has been continuously pleading for. The concept of a ‘special category status’ was introduced in 1969 by the Planning Commission during the Fourth Five-Year Plan. It extends tax incentives for investors and also increases the Centre’s financial share in all centrally sponsored schemes, considerably lightening the State government’s burden. However, consecutive Finance Commissions have ruled out extending the status to any States beyond those who already enjoy it.

Patna (Bihar):

Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Saturday took a pot-shot on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and said that when his party (Hindustani Awam Morcha) separated in 2015, he raised doubts about how he would run the party without any funds.

He also emphasised that now his party is not only functioning but is running at great speed.

“I want to thank Nitish Kumar ji, when we separated in 2001 and formed the party he raised doubts- ‘Jitan Manjhi se party chalegi? Na paisa hain na kuch’. How will he run the party? Today, I can say with pride that our party is not only functioning but is running at great speed. And you people are behind this, that is why I congratulate you too,” Mr Manjhi said.

Jitan Ram Manjhi, in 2015, parted ways with the Janata Dal (United) along with 18 others and formed his own party, Hindustani Awam Morcha, during the 2015 Bihar political crisis.

In the current political scenario, HAM is a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the centre and Bihar. The party’s head, Jitan Ram Manjhi is a Minister in Prime Minister Modi’s cabinet.

Earlier, amid the opposition attack on Nitish Kumar over a series of bridge collapses in Bihar, Mr Manjhi defended the latter, saying that the unusually heavy monsoon rains were the primary cause of the incidents.

“It is monsoon time. There has been an abnormal amount of rain, which is the reason behind the collapse of bridges. But the Chief Minister of the state is very sensitive towards the investigation,” Mr Manjhi told reporters.

Five bridges in Araria, Siwan, East Champaran, Kishanganj, and Madhubani districts collapsed across the state in June last month.

The first in the series was the bridge collapse in Araria on June 18.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan has asked the Bihar government to set a precedent by taking stringent action in cases of crime and the recent spate of bridge collapses, asserting that the state needs a vision to move up the development ladder.

Once a sharp critic of Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar before both allied with the BJP, Mr Paswan said the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will fight the next assembly elections under Mr Kumar’s leadership but flagged a host of issues which, he suggested, has stymied the state’s growth.The assembly elections in Bihar are due to be held around the end of 2025.

“Bihari itna aage hai to Bihar itna peeche kyon? (When Biharis are doing so well, then why is Bihar so behind?) We need to find an answer to this question,” Mr Paswan told PTI, highlighting how people from the state in different fields, from elite government jobs to the private sector, have done well after migrating.

“The problem is that a vision needs to be there and it needs to be implemented,” he said, stressing that efforts should be made to stop migration from the state.

Ahead of the Union budget presentation on July 23, Mr Paswan said he supported the demand for special category status for Bihar.

However, he noted that the NITI Aayog’s recommendations go against granting the demand and said an alternative like a special package should be given to the state.

Asked about the collapse of nearly 15 bridges in Bihar in recent months, a development which raised questions about the quality of development work and made the state a magnet for jokes and memes on social media, Mr Paswan said it is a serious issue.

“This definitely shows that somewhere corruption has taken place. Compromises were made. I don’t want to get into the politics of who was in the government then. We are in the government now. It is our responsibility to make sure this does not get repeated. Whosoever is responsible should be held accountable and punished so that a precedent is set for the future,” he said.

Asked about his change of stand on Mr Kumar, he said if he is part of an alliance, then he needs to be there wholeheartedly. “I can’t be part of an alliance and have apprehensions also. Because that could have just damaged the alliance and would have affected our performance,” Mr Paswan added.

The NDA won 30 of the state’s 40 Lok Sabha seats, with Mr Paswan’s party achieving a 100 per cent strike rate by bagging all five seats it contested.

He added that Mr Kumar as chief minister has done “really well” compared to the way the state was run under the previous RJD governments. “There is always a scope for improvement,” he said.

Curbing the crime rate can boost tourism, especially religious tourism, in the state, as people need to feel safe before visiting Bihar. A grand temple in Sitamarhi for Lord Ram’s wife Sita and connecting the town, where the devout believe she was born, with Ayodhya can be a huge boost to tourism, he added.

He rued the lack of education infrastructure in cities of Bihar, noting that a large number of students from the state enroll in Kota’s coaching centres, many of whom are owned by Biharis.

A good number of teachers there are also from Bihar, Mr Paswan said, wondering why such a model cannot be replicated in Patna, Muzaffarpur or Bhagalpur.

The state regularly suffers from drought and floods at the same time, the Hajipur MP said, calling for the inter-linking of rivers.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) President, Chirag Paswan, addressed his status as a “nepotism kid” in a podcast with news agency ANI. As the son of Ram Vilas Paswan, the founder of the undivided LJP, Mr Paswan acknowledged his privilege but also highlighted the inherent challenges of being the son of an influential political leader. 

Mr Paswan, who serves as the Union Minister of Food Processing Industries in Modi 3.0, said, “I am a nepo kid, I can’t shy away from that fact. I am proud that I am the son of Ram Vilas Paswan. For me, it is a matter of pride.”

“If you do good work, people say that it is because of your parents. So the credit is not yours. But if you do bad, then you will hear abuses. So you are always on a double-edged sword,” he added. 

Despite his privileged position as the son of a party leader, Mr Paswan claimed that his rise to the party’s leadership was not automatic. He had to prove himself, especially after the split within the LJP orchestrated by his uncle, Pashupati Paras. 

Mr Paras, Ram Vilas Paswan’s brother, was the MP from Hajipur, a constituency with a strong Paswan vote bank. However, the last assembly polls indicated that the 6 per cent Paswan vote had consolidated behind Chirag Paswan, a factor the BJP considered when excluding Pashupati Paras from the seat-sharing arrangement for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Ram Vilas Paswan had secured the Hajipur seat eight times, with four consecutive victories starting in 1996. In the 2024 polls, Chirag Paswan won the seat by over 1.7 lakh votes.

“I lost everything – the party, the symbol, the organisation, and the house we stayed in for three decades. So everything was taken away from me. I had to start from scratch; I did not even know how to make a new party,” Chirag Paswan said.

Following the LJP split, Chirag Paswan contested the 2020 Bihar assembly elections independently, fielding candidates solely against the JD(U), despite remaining within the NDA fold. He led his party’s revival through the “Ashirwad Yatra” in Bihar, ahead of the 2024 general elections. A staunch supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Paswan’s party won all five seats it contested, making it the only NDA partner with a 100 per cent win rate. 
 

Patna:

While JD-U leaders continue to demand special status for Bihar, Union MSME Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi asserted that the NITI Aayog has clearly ruled out the provision for any state, but noted the state’s financial needs will be met.

“The NITI Aayog has clearly denied special status to any state in the country. People from different political parties can do anything, but special status will not be given to any state,” he said while interacting with media persons in Hajipur.

He added that the Central government has assured financial assistance to Bihar. “Whatever amount of money is needed for development, the central government and PM Narendra Modi will provide it,” Jitan Ram Manjhi said.

Since the formation of the NDA government at the Centre, JD-U leaders have been advocating for special status for Bihar and Water Resource Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Building Construction Minister Ashok Choudhary have been vocal in their demands.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders like RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leader Meira Kumar have mocked the JD-U for seeking special status from the BJP despite being part of the NDA government.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

What is the basis on which the Finance Commission determines how much money is allocated to different States? Do you think there is a case for States such as Bihar and Andhra Pradesh to receive funds beyond what is being allocated to them through the Finance Commission?

Arun Kumar: The last Finance Commission had said that States should be given 41% of the divisible tax pool. Within that 41%, what does each State get? For that, there is a formula which is based on income, population, the area, forests and ecology, demographic performance, etc. If we look at the 15th Finance Commission, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in 2020-21 got the largest amount of funds and Karnataka and Kerala saw the largest decrease in the share of funds. So, in other words, the criteria that the Finance Commission use can change the amount of funds going to different States.

Comment | The problem of special packages

Apart from the Finance Commission devolution, which is statutory, how the remaining amount is spent is determined by the Centre, and that is where political determination comes in; States which are closer to the Centre get more funds. Andhra Pradesh and Bihar are part of the NDA and their support is critical to the government. So, I suppose they will be able to draw more funds.

On Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh| Explained