Bihar: Did not attend the meeting of Niti Aayog over refusal to grant statehood

Patna: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) constituent CPI (ML) Liberation has claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar skipped the Niti Aayog meeting due to embarrassment over the Centre’s refusal to grant special status to the state. The party also criticised the NDA-led central government for “misleading” people on the issue of special package and announced to hold a protest march next month.

However, JD(U) leaders maintained silence over the absence of party president Nitish Kumar at the Niti Aayog meeting held in Delhi on Saturday. The chief minister held a party meeting in Patna on Saturday to discuss preparations for the assembly elections in neighbouring Jharkhand. “I must say that Kumar skipped the meeting due to embarrassment over the Centre’s refusal to grant special status to Bihar,” CPI(ML)L leader in Bihar assembly Mehboob Alam said.

“He should have attended this crucial meeting… He has once again missed the opportunity to seek special category status for Bihar and inclusion of the state’s revised reservation laws in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution,” he told PTI. The Ninth Schedule contains a list of central and state laws that cannot be challenged in court. Another CPI(ML) MLA Ajit Kumar Singh expressed similar views. “The CM’s decision to skip the Niti Aayog meeting shows he has no concern for the welfare of the people of Bihar,” Singh said.