Nitish demands spl status for Bihar

Give Bihar Special Status; devt is our right Venkat Parsa New Delhi: With eye on the General Election in 2014, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday declared that the Janata Dal (United), which is a constituent of the Opposition NDA, will support any party, which will grant Special State status to Bihar. Staging a mega rally in the Ramlila Grounds in the capital, Nitish Kumar flexed his political muscle, sending out a message to the Congress on the terms for possible support: "Give Bihar special status now, else after 2014 you will have to give it for sure. Only those will be allowed to rule Delhi, who takes care of the backward areas." Taking a swipe at his bête-noire and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for bandying his Gujarat model of development, Nitish Kumar stated, "These days there is talk of models of development. The inclusive development, which is the Bihar model, is the right one." Nitish Kumar has already threatened to walk out of the NDA, if Modi is made BJP prime ministerial candidate. The BJP, which is a coalition partner in the Bihar government, was conspicuous by its absence. Addressing an impressive rally, Nitish Kumar said the Economic Survey 2013 has acknowledged the need for changing the criteria to assist backward states. Finance Minister P Chidambaram, in his budget speech, also stated that the criteria will have to be changed to help the truly backward states to surge ahead. Both are Centre's documents, reflecting the government policy. Now steps must be taken to translate this resolve into concrete action by changing the criteria to grant special state status to Bihar. "If the Centre goes back on its word, then the struggle will continue and we will not rest till the goal is achieved," declared Nitish Kumar. The logic given by the Centre for not conceding the demand is that in the existing benchmark, Bihar does not qualify to be a backward state. On technical grounds the Centre has been rejecting the demand, despite admitting that there is backwardness in Bihar. So change in the criteria has been demanded to enable a backward state to get special state status. The Centre had to prepare a strategy to develop the state, he said. Raising the pitch, Nitish Kumar said, "We are not begging or seeking alms. We want development, which is our right. We knocked at the doors of the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister and the Planning Commission. It is time for the Centre to act." Development has to be comprehensive and cover all regions. There cannot be pockets of backwardness, he said. The Prime Minister tweeted appreciating the speedy growth in Bihar. The 21st Century should be for all states and not for select states, he insisted. "In such a situation, is it not our right to develop and progress? Development is our right. We have been neglected and discriminated against. After the creation of Jharkhand, Bihar lost out heavily on natural resources. People are now to migrating to other places. Now is the right time for the Centre to help Bihar," he said.