New Delhi: A day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had announced his intention of launching a state-wide movement if the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre did not fulfil his demand of ‘special status’ for the state, BJP member of Parliament Sushil Modi was quoted by the media Friday as saying that the concept of “special state” had been done away with.
“No matter how much you protest, no state will get special status. The concept itself has been done away with by the Raghuram Rajan Committee and the 14th Finance Commission,” Modi was quoted as saying. The Raghuram Rajan Committee of financial sector reforms had been constituted by the Indian government.
The concept of “special states” or “special category status” for states was reportedly introduced in 1969 to provide backward or disadvantaged states with central assistance and tax breaks, among other perks.
The issue has become a fresh stress point between the government and opposition BJP in Bihar, after the caste survey the result of which was released last month, especially as it comes ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing a gathering in state capital Patna Thursday, Kumar had said, “Special state status is necessary for the development of the state. For this, campaigns will be run at various places in the state and demand for special state status.”
The Bihar CM added: “Those who do not support this demand are not interested in the development of the state. If the demand for special category of Bihar is met, then we will have it within two-and-a-half years, We will be able to provide all types of benefits to all people. Therefore, the demand for giving special category to Bihar should be fulfilled immediately.”
The CM’s demand for “special category” for Bihar is not new. Kumar had first raised the issue in 2006, after becoming CM in 2005, but the demand has been ignored by successive governments at the Centre.
Hitting out at the CM, BJP leader and leader of opposition in a social media post Friday, the Bihar Assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha said, “Those who hijack the mandate should first dissolve the state assembly and then demand special category. Special category has now become a catchphrase for the Chief Minister.”
Sinha added: “When he was in power with the NDA alliance, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not want special category. When he came into opposition [at centre], he is creating an uproar. Why did he not ask for special category for five years? They want permission to loot. The intentions of the uncle and nephew are not clear. There is only preparation to loot the central treasury.”
Last year, the Janata Dal (United) under Kumar had broken out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and joined hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress. The JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance went on to form government in Bihar, with Kumar retaining his position as CM.
Kumar’s renewed demand for special category for Bihar has also drawn criticism from Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and MP Chirag Paswan, who said by making the demand the Bihar CM was “exposing his own failures”.
“They have to demand the status of a special state. After all, why do they remember the status of a special state only after separating from the NDA? The Chief Minister wants to fool the Biharis, which is not possible now,” Paswan said.
Political analysts ThePrint spoke to termed the demand Kumar’s “pressure tactics” against the BJP.
“Nitish Kumar has hit two birds with one stone here. By demanding special status, he has not only tried to put pressure on BJP, but has also given a message to the Congress. They know that BJP is under pressure since the caste survey and this could prove to be a right bet just before the Lok Sabha elections,” said Sanjay Kumar, political analyst and assistant professor in the department of social sciences at Bihar’s Mahatma Gandhi Central University.
The analyst added: “Nitish never had a big vote bank in Bihar. Now his vote bank has shrunk a lot. EBC [extremely backward classes] and Mahadalit used to be Nitish’s biggest vote bank, but now BJP has made a dent in it. Nitish knows that he can never win any election alone. He has tried this before and failed. That is why he is emphasising on an issue which will awaken the ‘Bihari identity’ of the people”.
The Extremely Backward Classes form 36.01 percent of Bihar’s population, Other Backward Classes 27.12 percent, SCs 19.65 Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes 1.68 percent, according to the caste survey. The general category accounts 15.52 percent.
‘The demand for special status not new’
In November 2012, Nitish raised the demand for special category for Bihar at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
Addressing the crowd at the rally, Nitish had said, “This demand is not only of Bihar. This demand is of all those states which are below the national average in development and other matters. The central government should give special status to such states. Should be given status, so that they can reach the national average.”
At that time, Nitish had attacked the then Congress government at the Centre accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of not giving the state government time to present its demand to him.
The following year, in 2013, CM Kumar held a ‘Adhikar Rally’ (rights rally) at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi demanding special category for Bihar.
Addressing the rally, the Bihar CM had said, “Bihar should get its rights. Bihar also has the right to develop. Bihar has asked for its rights for the first time and it should get it.”
Challenging the then central government, Nitish had said it was the first time that Biharis have shown their strength in Delhi.
At the Delhi rally Kumar had attacked both BJP and Congress and said he would allign with whichever party met his demand of special status for Bihar.
After this, Kumar also met then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with his demand.
Even during the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, the Bihar CM continued to raise the demand for special status.
The BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014 and in the 2015 Bihar assembly elections JD(U) joined hands with the RJD and the Congress. The demand for special category continued.
The JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance went on to form government in Bihar, but couldn’t stand the test of time.
In 2017, Kumar and JD(U) quit the alliance and formed government in Bihar with the BJP. During his years with the NDA, the Bihar CM was less vocal about his demand for special category for Bihar.
The issue has now again been raised following JD(U)’s exit from the NDA last year.
“This is Nitish Kumar’s attempt to create ‘moral pressure’ on the BJP,” D.M. Diwakar, former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Patna, told ThePrint.
Diwakar added: “After the report of the caste survey, RJD and JD(U) have become stronger. The caste equation has become very strong. The politics of Bihar has shifted from religion to caste. Lok Sabha elections are also going to be held [next year] and this is an attempt by Nitish Kumar to put pressure on BJP.”
He further said, “Nitish knows how to work ‘smartly’. As long as he was with BJP, he remained silent on this issue, but now when he parted ways, he has again started demanding this. He knows that BJP is not working on this issue.”
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: ‘Stupid of me to make him CM’ — Nitish launches into tirade against Manjhi in Bihar Assembly