Nitish Kumar seeks special status for Bihar

Patna, Mar 22: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today urged the Centre to accord a special status to Bihar to fast track economic development in the state.

It is an aspiration of the masses in Bihar that the state should be accorded special status to speed up economic development, he said at a function on the occasion of the legislative council's centenary celebrations attended among others by the President Pratibha Patil.

The Centre should consider the demand for special status to Bihar so that the state could develop itself and contribute to the development process in the country, the Chief Minister said.

The state has been tagged among 'BIMARU' states due to lack of development activities here over the years and it was in this context that the state be accorded a special status to expedite development activities, he said.

Kumar said that the overall atmosphere in Bihar has changed for the better and the people have adopted a positive mindset to work together for development of the state.

The people of Bihar now prided themselves of their identity as Biharis in their thinking and action and it was a good omen for the state, the Chief Minister said.

The people wanted to re-discover their glorious past during which the state used to be a leader and its history used to converge with that of the country, he said.

The people have got over despondency that prevailed in the state till recently, Kumar said in an apparent reference to the 15 years of RJD-led rule.

It was for the purpose of reviving the past glories of the state that the revival of the ancient Nalanda University has been started with the help from the Centre and the donor countries, the Chief Minister said, adding it was only a matter of time that the new university will buzz with academic activities and the bright students from the country and abroad will make a beeline for admission there.

PTI