Crusade for Bihar's special status to continue: Nitish

Observing that the special status grant was imperative for Bihar's development, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said the "crusade" in this regard would continue till the demand is met.
"The Centre should consider our demand for grant of special status to enable Bihar to leap into development track, otherwise our crusade on the issue will continue till the demand is met," he said at a function in Islampur township in his native Nalanda district.
Describing special status demand as the rightful claim of Bihar and its people, Kumar said, "We have been striding on development path for long, but need special incentive to get closer to national ratio."

He said the JD(U) had taken signature of 1.25 crore people to press for the demand and he met the Prime Minister, Union Finance Minister and the Planning Commission "to present our case".
Kumar said his party also held successful rallies in Patna and New Delhi as part of the crusade for special status and the Centre had taken note of this and formed an expert committee to look into the matter.
"We are not aware of the recommendations of the experts' committee," he said referring to the then chief economic advisor to Finance ministry Raghuram Rajan-headed committee that has submitted its report to the Centre.

"However, one thing is clear to us that we want our legitimate claim as we too have a right to development," Kumar said.
The chief minister also announced sops, including a nursing school, worth Rs 724 crore for development of Islampur region.