Union Minister of State Anupriya Patel, Ramdas Athawale and JD(U) MP Dileshwar Kamait during the all-party meeting, at Parliament House in New Delhi on July 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

The Janata Dal (United), a key BJP ally which heads the government in Bihar, has strongly argued for a special financial package for the State to be granted during the Budget Session of Parliament that begins from July 22, since the government has already ruled out the grant of special category status. The JD(U) made its demand at Sunday’s all-party meeting.

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However, the BJP’s other major ally, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is in power in Andhra Pradesh remained ambivalent on the issue, only seeking financial support from the Centre on various “legacy” issues dogging the State.

According to sources, back-channel talks are on between the BJP and its allies on this issue. With Bihar going to the polls in a year, the JD(U) has told the BJP in no uncertain terms that Bihar must get significant financial aid from the Centre for the ruling National Democratic Alliance to have a fair shot in next year’s Assembly election.

Reciprocity expected

The JD(U) already made a concession for the BJP, climbing down from its long-standing demand for special category status only. A resolution was passed at the JD(U)‘s last national executive meeting in Delhi, stating that Bihar needs either a special category status or a special financial package. The JD(U) now expects a reciprocal gesture from the BJP.

It was JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha who raised the issue during the all-party meeting. “We reiterated our demand for special category status in the meeting. Our leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has addressed public rallies from Gandhi Maidan to Ramlila ground on the issue. We also said that if on some technical grounds, they are unable to accord Bihar this status, they should grant a special package. We hope that in the upcoming Budget, the government will consider it,” Mr. Jha said.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president and Union Minister Chirag Paswan also raised the same demand at the all-party meet.

YSRCP-TDP tussle

Unlike the JD(U), the TDP did not explicitly spell out its demand for “special category status” or a “special package” for Andhra Pradesh, but spoke at length on the precarious economic condition that the State finds itself in. The TDP’s equivocation on the issue gave a handle to its political rivals, the YSR Congress Party, which has framed special category status as the “only solution for the development of Andhra Pradesh.”

“We want enough time, so that all the financial issues concerning Andhra Pradesh can be placed in Parliament. It is not a question of this or that demand. There are several legacy issues. We will be presenting a white paper on the dire financial condition that the State finds itself in so that every political party understands our situation,” Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, the TDP’s parliamentary party leader told The Hindu.

Slamming the TDP’s attitude, YSRCP leader Vijay Sai Reddy told journalists that he had raised the need for “special category status” for Andhra Pradesh during the all-party meet. “We have been demanding special category status. It is not a new demand; we have been raising it right from the day it was promised by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha. It is the only solution for the development of Andhra Pradesh. The TDP ignoring the issue and asking for an incentive or additional funds is not acceptable,” he said.

‘No more special category States’

The Biju Janata Dal also raised the demand for special category status for Odisha during the all-party meeting. BJD leader Sasmit Patra said that was a two-decade-old demand that Odisha has been continuously pleading for. The concept of a ‘special category status’ was introduced in 1969 by the Planning Commission during the Fourth Five-Year Plan. It extends tax incentives for investors and also increases the Centre’s financial share in all centrally sponsored schemes, considerably lightening the State government’s burden. However, consecutive Finance Commissions have ruled out extending the status to any States beyond those who already enjoy it.