JD(U) to raise special status demand for Bihar again

PATNA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) on Sunday made a fresh pitch for grant of special category status to the state, and vowed to hit the streets besides making itself heard in Parliament to press for the demand.
Party's national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan came out with a series of tweets wherein he sought to assert that the state was not seeking charity from the Centre, but wanted its rightful due.
“By demanding special category status, the people of Bihar are neither begging nor are they asking for a loan,"” Lalan said in a strongly-worded tweet in Hindi.
“The people of Bihar want from the Centre what is their rightful due. We will keep lending our voice to them and raising the matter from the streets to the House (sansad se sadak tak),” said the JD(U) chief, who is also Lok Sabha MP from Munger.
He also attached to his tweets a poster and a video enumerating the benefits that grant of special status is likely to bring in its wake, and lamenting the non-fulfilment of the long-standing demand.
The aggressive stance by the party comes close on the heels of a cold shoulder on the issue from the BJP, its ally, which also rules the Centre.
State BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal had last week virtually rubbished the demand for special category status by claiming that the central aid Bihar received was greater than what a more populous province like Maharashtra was getting.