All-party meet ahead of Budget: 'Special category status' demands ring loud

Economic Survey to be tabled today, ahead of Budget on Tuesday. Oppn looks to put govt on the mat on issues ranging from UP order on Kanwar yatra to railway safety, reports Archis Mohan

Regional parties, including those in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), made a concerted push for “special category status” for Bihar, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh, on Sunday, on the eve of the Budget session of Parliament. 
 

The government is set to present the Economic Survey on Monday; it will be followed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiling the Union Budget 2024-25 on Tuesday.
 

During an all-party meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), both part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), pressed for this status