Nitish hails report; BJP cries betrayal

While Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday hailed the Raghuram Rajan committee’s report on backwardness of states, saying it would help Bihar get more Central aid, the main Opposition BJP attacked the ruling JD(U) and mocked the report, saying Bihar stood to gain nothing from this exercise. While the report apparently made no case for Bihar to be accorded special category state status, for which Mr Kumar and his JD(U) have long waged a political struggle, the regional party patted its own back soon after contents of the committee’s report emerged. JD(U) leaders welcomed the report, which placed Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh as the least developed states in India, saying this “definite stamp of backwardness” became possible only because of the party’s efforts that led to the committee’s formation. “The report will pave the way for Bihar and other backward states getting more funds from the Centre for development. Backward states will get the kind of Central assistance that special states are currently getting,” said Mr Kumar, congratulating Union finance minister P. Chidambaram. At the JD(U)’s state headquarters, party workers celebrated the Rajan panel’s report by beating drums. But senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi strongly criticised the panel for negating the prevailing concept of special category states and said the Centre had betrayed the people of Bihar as the state would gain nothing new from the classification of states. “This panel’s report is like making a mountain out of a mole hill. Bihar will gain nothing out of it,” tweeted Mr Modi, who has earlier attacked Mr Kumar for creating an impression that the Centre was considering special category status for Bihar.