Campaign for special category status for bihar 2010 2013

CAMPAIGN FOR SPECIAL CATEGORY STATUS FOR BIHAR2010 - 2013

CHIEF MINISTER NITISH KUMAR IS LEADING THE CAMPAIGN

FOR SPECIAL CATEGORY STATUS TO BIHAR

FOR

7 YEARS

INITATED THE DEMAND IN A LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER ON 9 DECEMBER

2005

7 YEARS LATER

CALLS PEOPLE FOR SUPPORT AT RAMLILA GROUNDS ON MARCH 17, 2013

JD(U) goes door to door and mile to mile in Bihar to reach 1 Crore people for support on Special Category Status

May 14, 2010 Janata Dal (United) launches Bihar-wide Signature Campaign

June , 2011 Strong mass support. 1.25 Crore people from across Bihar sign up

Janata Dal (United) Signature Campaign collects 1.25 Crore signatures of people from Bihar showing strong support for the Special Category Status Demand.

Party compiles the signatures, readies to take the message to the Prime Minister

10 July 2011JD(U) Bihar President leads a delegation from Patna with 1.25 Cr Signatures

Delegation led by Janata Dal (United) President Shri Bashishtha Narayan Singh marches (by bus) to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister to submit memorandum and highlight the demand of people of Bihar.

14 July 2011Prime Minister Accepts the Memorandum

Prime Minister meets the delegation led by National JD (U) president Sharad Yadav.

Member of Parliament N.K Singh stated that the memorandum demanded two concessions:• First, that the current formula of 70% loan and 30% grant be altered to 90% grant and

10% loan like other special category States to Bihar as well. This would give Bihar financial resources and greater headroom for borrowing for infrastructure and social sector projects.

• Second, that a fiscal package which comprised of tax holiday for Income tax, Corporate tax, excise and customs duty be also be given in order to attract investment in a State where industrializaton so far has been at its lowest point.

8 September 2011Government of India constitutes Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) for Bihar’s Demand

Notification on September 8: IMG with Member-secretary of Planning Commission as its chairperson and secretary in the department of expenditure, Ministry of Finance, as member has been constituted. The Group to submit its report in three months to the panel

Member of Parliament, Shri N.K. Singh, raised the issue in Rajyasabha

Minister of State, Planning, Ashwani Kumar replies:

"An Inter-Ministerial Group would be constituted to look into the

demand for Special Category Status”

18 December 2011Nitish takes on the Finance Minister on ignoring Bihar’s rightful demands

Reacting to the news of large financial package offered to

West Bengal, the Chief Minister wrote to the Finance Minister

Dr. Pranab Mukherjee

“Repeated attempts by the State Government to Central Government and the Prime Minister for according a Special Category Status to Bihar have not been accepted so far. In the index of economic backwardness and industrial progress, Bihar remains significantly below the national average. Bihar’s per capita income is 1/7th of the per capita income of National Capital of Delhi and 1/3rd of the national average. ”

March 2012Special Category Status to Bihar is Number One Pending Issue

Nitish writes to Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Dr. Montek Singh for consideration of several demands of Bihar highlighting the key pending issues of the state.

Special Category Demand is first on the list.

May 2012Inter-Ministerial Group Rejects Bihar’s Demand

IMG acknowledges Bihar’s Development Deficit and

backwardness, but Rejects Demand for Special Category

Status

“The Group comes to a finding that Bihar's case for a

special category state is not made out” says the IMG Report

Nitish calls for the voice of People of Bihar to make the demand

Announces Adhikar Rally in Gandhi Maidan on 4th November

Takes Adhikar Yatra Across the State

People of Bihar rally behind in support

Demand for Special Category Status becomes a mass movement

ADHIKAR RALLY 4th NOVEMBER

GANDHI MAIDAN

“ November 4 is an important date … it was on this day that the police had lathicharged Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan while he was leading a protest to gherao the Bihar Assembly and legislators as part of the 1974 movement.

The lathicharge had shaken the chair of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi...Sunday’s Adhikar rally is a strong message to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to stop discrimination against Bihar ”

“WE WILL FIGHT TILL BIHAR GETS SPECIAL STATUS”

Announces Rally at Ramlila Grounds in March to address the nation

24 December 2012Bihar important state in the discussion for Special Category Status

Planning Commision member Abhijit Sen talks positively about Special Category Status

27 December 2012Demands at NDC Meeting: Fresh thinking on Special Category Status Needed

At National Development Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister and calls for fresh

thinking on Special Category Status.

1. “IMG constituted by the prime minister did not consider the issues spelt out with due seriousness and reached pre-ordained conclusions on parameters of special status”

2. Demands the constitution of an expert group to examine and recommend appropriate policy measures to overcome development disabilities of Bihar.

27 February 2013

Economic Survey of India

calls for a REVIEW of the criteria of

Special Category Status

News brings smiles and hope across Bihar

28 February 2013Signs Of Hope

"The finance minister has now acknowledged in the budget that there was a case for revisiting the existing criteria so that new parameters were set for identifying backward states like Bihar extending some policy support."

The center in principle has now accepted the view that the definition of backwardness needed to be redefined for according special category status to Bihar.

"This is a big victory of the people of Bihar who have waging a relentless battle for the special category status demand. It is a very positive development which will eventually pave the way for according special category status to Bihar."