NCP push for Bihar’s special status

Patna: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) vowed on Thursday to intensify the agitation for “special category status” to Bihar and organise a dharna in support in New Delhi.

It also appealed to all parties to make it a political issue in their actions.

“We’re going to intensify our agitation to seek special status for the state,” NCP general secretary Tariq Anwar said. “Our party will launch a massive mass contact campaign to spread awareness among people of the state. We will also organise a huge dharna in Delhi in August-end to wake up the central government to Bihar’s need.”

The NCP’s decision came after a review meeting at its state headquarters in Patna on the campaign for special category to Bihar. The leaders said it was necessary to remove backwardness in the state.

Tariq, an MP from Katihar, said the NCP appeals to all political parties “to make special category status a political issue and fight for it. Just begging will not bring anything.”

He pointed out how Prime Minister Narendra Modi had humiliated chief minister Nitish Kumar by not paying attention to demands like special status and central university status to Patna University.

Tariq added that Congress president Rahul Gandhi had written to him and expressed support for any step to remove backwardness and underdevelopment from the state. RJD chief Lalu Prasad has also expressed solidarity on the issue.

However, the NCP leader said if there was any technical difficulty in giving special category status to Bihar “as planning bodies stipulate that it could be given only to hilly states, then at least special packages could be provided so that the state could tide over its backwardness.”

Reacting to queries on Nitish’s feelers to the Congress and whether he should be taken back into the Grand Alliance, Tariq said the RJD was the biggest party in the alliance and any decision should be taken after consulting leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.

Courtesy: The Telegraph