"NITI Aayog has already decided, they will not...": Union Min Jitam Ram Manjhi on Bihar 'special status'

Amid the demands to grant 'special state status' to Bihar, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Wednesday said that as far as the 'special state status' is concerned, the NITI Aayog has already decided that they will not give special status to any state.

However, Manjhi stressed that PM Modi is paying special attention to the state and Bihar's development is not going to stop under any circumstances.

Reacting to the JDU's demand for special state status for Bihar, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said, "It is not a big deal to raise the demand. But you must have seen how many schemes were given to Bihar in the last budget. Schemes worth about Rs 300 crore were given to Bihar... PM Modi is paying special attention to Bihar and as far as the special status is concerned, the NITI Aayog has already decided that they will not give special status to any state. In such a situation, it is their job to demand it... However, Bihar's development is not going to stop under any circumstances ..."


Union Minister Manjhi was celebrating his 80th birthday in Patna on Wednesday.

As the BJP's key ally in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), JD (U) has demanded a special status category for Bihar, earlier on July 22, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, in a written reply, said that special status cannot be granted to Bihar as per the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) report 2012.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting a Union Budget 2024-25, made major announcements for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, including a boost in infrastructure.