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Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Kumar Jha on Sunday said that Bihar seeks both special state status and a special package.
He also said that the demand for special status for Bihar has been there since the division of Bihar and Jharkhand. "This demand of Bihar (special state status) is called unrealistic by many people... This demand has been there since the division of Bihar and Jharkhand... Apart from political parties, we want a change in the policies of the central government which considers Bihar as a centre of labour supply... We want both, special state status and special package," Jha told ANI. In a recent all-party meeting before the upcoming budget session, JD (U) leader also pressed for Bihar's special category status. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, wrote, "In today's all-party meeting of floor leaders chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the JD(U) leader demanded special category status of Bihar. The YSRCP leader demanded special category status for Andhra Pradesh. Strangely, the TDP leader kept quiet on the matter". Ramesh also pointed out that Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader reminded Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) President JP Nadda of the BJP's 2014 election manifesto, which had promised special category status to Odisha. "How the political climate has changed! In the all-party meeting of floor leaders, the BJD leader reminded the Defence Minister and BJP President JP Nadda that the BJP's manifesto for the 2014 assembly elections in Odisha had promised special category status to the state," Jairam Ramesh stated in a post on X. Meanwhile, JDU MP Sanjay Kumar Jha said that the demand for special state status for Bihar has been a priority for the JDU party. However, if the government encounters any issues with this, the party has requested a special package for Bihar instead. "Bihar should get the status of a special state, this has been the demand of our party (JDU) since the beginning. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has held big rallies for this demand. If the government feels that there is a problem in doing this, then we have demanded a special package for Bihar," he said. (ANI)
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