Point, counterpoint

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been quite vocal in praising his government for the 17 per cent growth achieved in 2014-15, far ahead of Madhya Pradesh and Goa, which are ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party-led governments. Kumar has been citing a NITI Aayog report to buttress his claim that Bihar has been the fastest-growing state in 2014-15 and that its gross state domestic product stood at a high of 17.06 per cent. His detractors have countered the claim saying that he has used figures culled from the annual reports of the erstwhile Planning Commission, now NITI Aayog, and that there is no separate state-wise study. Central government officials have pointed out that if Bihar is indeed among the fastest-growing state economies in the country, it has no right to demand "special category status" from the Centre.