Nitish Kumar Welcomes 'Special Help' for Bihar in Union Budget

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar expressed satisfaction with the 'special help' announced in the Union Budget, addressing the state's concerns over special category status. Speaking at the Vidhan Sabha, Kumar welcomed the assistance but evaded confirming if he’d drop demands for special status. He criticized the RJD-Congress-Left for disrupting proceedings.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed satisfaction with the 'special help' announced in the Union Budget, noting that it addressed the state's long-standing concerns about special category status.

Speaking to reporters at the Vidhan Sabha shortly after the Budget presentation by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Kumar stated, 'We had proposed that if special status wasn't feasible for technical reasons, Bihar should receive special assistance from the Centre in another form, which has been announced today.'

Kumar, however, evaded directly answering whether he was giving up the demand for special category status. When asked if he was pleased with the budget, he responded emphatically, 'Haan, bhai (yes, of course).' He criticized the RJD-Congress-Left combine, accusing them of neglecting Bihar's needs when they were part of the ruling dispensation at the Centre.

'These people who are making so much noise should remember that when they were in power at the Centre, the state never got its due. Whatever progress you see is due to the state government's efforts since 2005. The situation was so bad that even in Patna, people feared going out after dark,' Kumar alleged.