Nitish meets PM, seeks special status for Bihar

New Delhi (Agencies): A day after his show of strength at a public rally in the capital, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday.A Kumar, whose rally was seen by analysts as an attempt to position himself for a possible political realignment after the 2014 general election, is seeking a special category status for Bihar. Asked whether he had set a limit for the demand to be met, Kumar told reporters: "Time frame is automatically fixed...elections are due in 2014. The time frame is right now...immediately. If they do something in this period, they can get the benefit of it."A Terming it the "politics of development," Kumar said that it would be a "matter of great happiness" if the Union government moved towards meeting his demand. "I have left it to the Finance Minister... From what they have told me, it seems they will fulfil what they have promised," he said. He also met deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia.A The meetings come amid reports of strains in ties between the Janata Dal (United) and its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The two parties are partners in Bihar's coalition government. To reach out to the Janata Dal (United), the Congress party on Monday said the central government would consider demands for financial assistance to Bihar. "There has been no discrimination towards any state, irrespective of which party rules it. If Bihar wants any type of assistance, it will be sympathetically considered," Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi told reporters.