Page 14 - Nitish Kumar

Nitish Kumar pushes for Bihar's special category status at key JDU meet

The demand for Bihar's special category status is crucial now as BJP relies on support from JD(U), which has 12 seats in the new Lok Sabha, to stay in power at the Centre

JD(U) names Sanjay Jha working prez, seeks special package for Bihar

The JD(U) appointed its Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Jha as working president on Saturday. The decision was taken at a meeting of its national executive where the party reiterated its demand for special category status for Bihar, while adding that the Centre could also consider an alternative in a special package, its senior leader Neeraj Kumar said. The BJP ally also demanded stringent action against culprits in exam paper leak cases and called for a strong law to rule out such incidents in the future. The decision to appoint Jha as working president is significant since he is known to have a good equation with the BJP leadership. He is also the party's leader in the Rajya Sabha. Party sources said Jha was well-suited to draw a good deal from the BJP and maintain a friendly relationship between the two parties, which have a history of bumpy ties. Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, Union ministers Lalan Singh and Ram Nath Thakur, and other senior leaders from aro

Bihar Police arrests four more in constable recruitment exam paper leak

The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police on Thursday arrested four persons, including three from West Bengal, in connection with the constable recruitment examination question paper leak on October 1, 2023, leading to its cancellation by the Central Selection Board of Constables (CSBC) on October 3. The arrested persons are Kaushik Kumar Kar and Sanjay Das, both residents of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, and Suman Bishwas from Kolkata. Another arrested person, Saurabh Bandhopadhay, hails from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, on June 5, the EOU had arrested Ashwani Ranjan, Vikki Kumar, and Aniket, all residents of Bihar and alleged members of the interstate Sanjeev Mukhiya gang, currently in judicial custody. Several members of the Mukhiya gang have already been arrested by Bihar Police in connection with the NEET (UG) and Bihar Public Service Commission's (BPSC) Teachers Recruitment Exam (TRE) - 3 paper leak cases. The EOU has so far registered a total of 74 FIRs across .

Lok Sabha highlights: Radical preacher Amritpal Singh fails to take oath as MP

Lok Sabha updates: As the 18th Lok Sabha began, Rahul Gandhi underscored that the Opposition-led INDIA bloc would not tolerate the alleged attacks on Constitution by PM Modi and Amit Shah

Bihar govt cancels Rs 826 crore-contracts given during coalition regime

The NDA government in Bihar cancelled 350 contracts totalling Rs 826 crore that were awarded during the previous RJD-led 'mahagathbandhan' government

Why hasn't Bihar been granted special category status: Cong to PM Modi

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bihar, the Congress on Wednesday attacked him and asked why hasn't the state been granted special category status as promised by him. The opposition party also asked why Patna University has been denied central university status. "As the 'one-third' Pradhan Mantri visits Bihar to inaugurate Nalanda University, some questions from the campaign that we hope he answers now - Why hasn't Bihar been granted Special Category Status as the PM had promised?" Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. "In 2014, when campaigning for his current position, Mr. Modi effectively promised special category status for Bihar. As per the Centre's own Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report, Bihar ranks as the poorest state in India, and 52% of the state's population lacks access to requisite health, education, and living standards," he said. In 2013, the Raghuram Rajan Committee recommended a new methodology for devolving funds that is bas

Return of 'coalition dharma'

Allies are newly empowered, but need not stand in the way of reform

Nitish appoints Cabinet members as ministers in-charge of various districts

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday appointed all his cabinet colleagues as 'ministers in-charge' of various districts. According to a government order, Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha have been made ministers-in-charge of Patna and Muzaffarpur districts respectively. Sinha will also be in-charge of Bhojpur district. Vijay Kumar Choudhary has been made in-charge of Purnea and Nalanda districts, Bijendra Prasad Yadav will be minister in-charge of Vaishali district. The order further states that Prem Kumar will oversee Nawada, Shrawan Kumar (Samastipur and Madhepura), Santosh Kumar Suman (Aurangabad), Sumit Kumar Singh (Saran), and Renu Devi will oversee Siwan. Additionally, Mangal Pandey will oversee Darbhanga and Begusarai, Niraj Kumar Singh will manage Katihar, and Ashok Chowdhary will take care of Sitamarhi and Jehanabad. Leshi Singh will be in charge of Madhubani, Madan Sahni (Supaul), Nitish Mishra (Araria and Gaya), Nitin Nabin (Buxa

Modi govt 3.0 highlights: Mohan Charan Majhi to be the new CM of Odisha

Modi Cabinet updates: The new Cabinet has retained several BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, and Nirmala Sitharaman, who continue to hold critical portfolios

Naidu, Nitish 'dissatisfied souls' after portfolio allocation, claims Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday claimed that BJP allies Nitish Kumar and N Chandrababu Naidu were "dissatisfied souls" following the allocation of portfolios in the Union cabinet. Talking to reporters here, he also latched onto the term "bhatakti aatma" used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, and said this 'wandering restless soul' will not rest until the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra were dislodged. If RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat thought that the NDA government at the Centre was not in the interest of the country, he should pull it down, the Rajya Sabha member said. "There are two 'atrupta aatmas' (dissatisfied souls) in the Centre -- (Bihar Chief Minister) Nitish Kumar and (TDP chief) Chandrababu Naidu. You (BJP) should satisfy these two atrupta aatma. The way portfolios have been allocated, it seems all souls are dissatisfied, especially the NDA allies," Raut said. In the portfolio allocation on Wednesday, Lalan Sing

Modi govt 3.0 highlights: Safeguarding border will remain topmost priority, says Rajnath Singh

Cabinet ministers Updates: From PM addressing the PMO staff to the formulation of the new Lok Sabha, here are the latest updates

K Ram Mohan Naidu youngest, Jitan Ram Manjhi oldest in Council of Ministers

At 36, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu is the youngest minister while 79-year-old Jitan Ram Manjhi is the oldest minister to be sworn in. Naidu, Srikakulam MP from Telugu Desam Party (TDP), was sworn in as a minister of state (MoS) in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new Council of Ministers. Another young minister is Raksha Khadse (37), an MP from Maharashtra. She won the Raver Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra. Manjhi was sworn in as a Union Cabinet Minister in Modi 3.0 government. He has served as the 23rd chief minister of Bihar, and is the founding president of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM). Previously, Manjhi had served as the minister for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes welfare in Nitish Kumar's Cabinet. He won the Gaya seat in 2024 general elections. Some of the other young ministers include Chirag Paswan and Jayant Choudhary. PM Modi, along with his 71 ministers, took oath on Sunday as the new coalition government was formed after two full tenures in which the BJP enjoyed a ma

People voted to check power from being in few hands, says Sharad Pawar

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday said that in the recently held Lok Sabha polls, the people voted to put a check on power being concentrated in the hands of one or two persons. He said it would have been difficult for the ruling BJP to achieve the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha had it not received the support of the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U), Telugu Desam Party of N Chandrababu Naidu and other allies. Pawar also exhorted his party workers to be ready for the Maharashtra assembly elections due later this year and claimed the power of the state will be in their hands after the polls. He was addressing the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) workers as the party celebrated its 25th foundation day at its office here, days after his outfit won 8 out of 10 Lok Sabha seats it contested from Maharashtra as part of the opposition alliance in the 2024 general polls. Though the BJP could not get a majority on its own in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the party-led National Democratic .

Oath ceremony highlights: Modi sworn in as PM; TDP, JD(U), LJP, HAM, JD(S) get Cabinet berths

Modi cabinet 2024 LIVE updates: George Kurian was inducted in the new NDA cabinet while Anurag Thakur was excluded from the Modi Cabinet 3.0. JP Nadda was also included as a part of the new cabinet

Nitish Kumar's close aide Rajiv Ranjan 'Lalan' becomes central minister

Senior JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan popularly known as Lalan Singh, who was inducted as a minister in the Narendra Modi government on Sunday, has been among Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's closest aides for many years. This Bhumihar leader has always been party supremo Kumar's strength, as this caste in Bihar is known to have wide political influence despite its small size. Lalan was instrumental in stitching the JD(U)-RJD alliance in 2022. According to political observers, though Yadavs and Muslims are the traditional support bases of the RJD in certain areas of Munger, Jamalpur and Lahkisarai, Bhumihars and other upper-caste groups have been supporting Singh for the last several years. Claims and counter-claims over an alleged rift between Singh and Nitish Kumar made headlines a few months ago as the political equations changed in the following months. Singh won from Munger Lok Sabha seat for the third time. He had also represented the Begusarai constituency seat once, between 2

'Right leader at right time'; Naidu, Nitish back Modi as NDA leader

Ahead of Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony on June 9 as the prime minister, the newly elected NDA MPs arrived at the Central Hall of the old Parliament

Balance regional aspirations, national interests: Naidu at NDA meet

Key BJP allies -- TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar -- on Friday endorsed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance with a message to balance regional aspirations and national interests. Speaking at the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting here, BJP allies JD(S) leader H D Kumarswamy, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, NCP chief Ajit Pawar, HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi among others supported the proposal moved by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to elect Modi as the leader of the NDA. "Balancing regional aspirations and national interests must run parallelly while ensuring holistic development for all strata of society," Naidu said. Naidu said Modi's rallies in Andhra Pradesh helped the TDP win 16 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed confidence that Modi will develop India in a big way and also pay attention to Bihar. "We are confident that Modi will develop Indi

Nitish Kumar criticizes INDIA bloc for alleged lack of national focus

Prime Minister Modi and the other leaders at the meeting could not stop laughing at the jibe of Kumar, key founder-member of INDIA bloc in 2023. who had swtiched sides to BJP

Narendra Modi chosen as NDA leader, shares '10 year roadmap' for govt

NDA government updates: Alliance partners Nitish Kumar, Chandrababu Naidu, Pawan Kalyan among others extended their formal support to Modi as the leader of the NDA in a key meeting on Friday

Explained: Agniveer scheme and points of contention among BJP allies

The JD(U), while assuring the BJP of its 'unconditional support', expressed the need to address the 'shortcomings' in the scheme