After Budget Sops For Bihar, CM Nitish Kumar Takes U-Turn On Special Status Demand

After the Narendra Modi government rejected the demands for special status for Bihar, Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar issued a cryptic response and seemed to take a u-turn, responding to the budget he said, “People said that the provision for special status has been done away with much earlier.” Kumar further said that his party asked for special state status and special financial aid and the centre has followed up by allocating the asked special financial package. 

While the central government rejected Bihar's request for special status, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced significant financial assistance for the state during the presentation of the Union Budget 2024 in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “The government proposes ₹26,000 crore for various road projects in Bihar.” She further mentioned that financial assistance would be provided to Bihar with multilateral development agencies.  

The FM stated that the government would formulate Plan Purvodaya for the comprehensive development of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. 

Kumar, whose JD(U) with 12 Lok Sabha MPs is a crucial ally of the ruling NDA at the Centre, was questioned about the Union government's statement in Parliament on Monday. In response to the barrage of questions from journalists at the Bihar Assembly, the state's longest-serving Chief Minister said, "You will get to know everything gradually, bit by bit." 

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell short of a majority, securing only 240 seats. The party had to rely heavily on its allies, ultimately forming the government with 272 seats after receiving support from Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and Chandrababu Naidu's TDP.