Page 3 - Nitish Kumar

Budget 2024: From Chandrababu Naidu to Mamata Banerjee, here're CMs' views

Bengal has been completely deprived in this Union Budget, WB CM said

Ruckus in Bihar Assembly on reservation, proceedings adjourned till 2 PM

The Bihar assembly was on Wednesday adjourned till 2 PM as opposition members stood in the well of the House, demanding that the state's amended reservation laws be put in the ninth schedule of the Constitution. The opposition legislators did not relent despite repeated requests by Speaker Nand Kishor Yadav that they take their seats and words of admonition from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who stood up to intervene. "It was at my instance that you all agreed to a caste survey after which quotas for SCs, STs, OBCs and the extremely backward classes were hiked," said Kumar. He told the House that the Patna High Court has "set aside the reservation laws, we have moved the Supreme Court. A formal request has also been made to the Centre for putting these in the ninth schedule". Notably, quotas for deprived castes were hiked to 65 per cent through the laws passed in November last year, which the Patna High Court quashed last month. Placing the laws, which breach the 50 per cent cap on

Centre denying special status for Bihar evokes cryptic response from Nitish

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday came out with a cryptic response to the Centre's refusal to grant special category status to the state. Kumar, whose JD (U) is a key ally of the ruling NDA at the Centre, was asked about the Union government's statement in Parliament the day before. "You will get to know all things slowly, and slowly (sab kuchh dhire dhire jaan jaaiyega)," the longest-serving CM of the state said, in reply to a volley of questions he faced from journalists at the Bihar Assembly. Flashing his trademark smile of ambiguity, the veteran leader rushed inside the House, waving at the posse of journalists that stood trying to read his impregnable mind. Notably, after the Lok Sabha polls in which the BJP fell short of majority, becoming heavily dependent on allies, the JD (U) had held a national executive meeting where a resolution was passed raising a fresh demand for special status. Leaders of the JD (U), which has two ministers in the Union government, insis

Budget 2024 reactions: BJP, ally Nitish Kumar and Opposition, who said what

Union Budget 2024: The Congress was quick to point out that the parts of Sitharaman's Budget were inspired from its Lok Sabha elections 2024 manifesto

Budget 2024: PM Modi allies Nitish, Naidu demands billions, pile pressure

For now, it seems that Modi will likely be able to manage those demands without blowing out the budget deficit.

INDIA bloc to hold protests over collapsed law & order situation in Bihar

The opposition INDIA bloc in Bihar on Wednesday said it will organise a state-wide agitation later this week over the alleged deterioration in the law and order situation. The announcement was made at a joint press conference of the alliance partners here. The law and order situation has completely collapsed in the state. Everyday, Bihar is witnessing cases of murder, kidnapping, extortion, rape, etc Why is Chief Minister Nitish Kumar maintaining a stoic silence on the current situation? RJD's state party chief Jagadanand Singh said. We... will organise a protest march on July 20 across the state against rising crimes in Bihar. This issue will also be raised in the assembly during the upcoming monsoon session, Singh said. Leader of Opposition in the assembly and senior RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav also slammed the state government on the issue. Bihar witnessed several incidents that expose the current law and order situation. For instance husband and wife brutally murdered by stabbin

Bihar CM should 'strike', he's in position to get it done, says Congress

The Congress on Monday sought to know what Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is doing about the demand for special category status for the state and asserted that "he should strike" as he is in a position to get this done now. The opposition party's remarks come after Bihar ministers claimed that the latest report of NITI Aayog's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index 2023-24 vindicated the state's long-standing demand for greater central financial assistance. On July 12, NITI Aayog released the SDG India Index 2023-24 -- an assessment of the country's sustainable development. Bihar has figured at the bottom of the index despite improvements on some parameters. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said senior ministers in Bihar are now arguing that NITI Aayog's latest analysis vindicates their demand for special category status in the matter of Central assistance to the state. "Basically this would mean that instead of 70 per cent of such ...

PM Modi faces Budget pressure as Nitish Kumar seeks Rs 30,000 crore aid

Modi's biggest ally in the coalition - N Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party - has already made a request for more than $12 billion in aid over the next few years for Andhra Pradesh

Another bridge collapses in Bihar, 13th such mishap in three weeks

Bihar witnessed another bridge collapse on Wednesday, making it the 13th such incident in the state in a span of three weeks, an official said. The bridge collapsed at Mahishi village in Saharsa district earlier in the day, he said. It might be a small bridge or causeway. District officials have left for the spot. We are trying to gather more information about the incident, Additional Collector (Saharsa), Jyoti Kumar, said. There were no reports of any injury or fatality. The Bihar government has suspended at least 15 engineers in connection with the series of recent incidents of bridge collapse reported from various districts, including Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had last week instructed officials to conduct a survey of all old bridges in the state and identify those that require immediate repair.

With four more bridge collapses in a day, Bihar tally touches 10 in 2 weeks

Four bridges collapsed within 24 hours in Bihar on July 3, marking the tenth such event in the state over the past 15 days. Here is why the bridges aren't able to stand tall in bad weather

Bihar set to become growth engine of East, says Minister Nitish Mishra

Bihar is planning to introduce a few policies in the next 2 months to attract capital in various potential sectors and is poised to become the growth engine of the East, State Industries and Tourism Minister Nitish Mishra has said. The state is implementing strategic measures to suit both large and small businesses in order to promote industry and employment, aligning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to develop East India as a growth engine, he said. "Bihar is ready to participate in the country's development and become the growth engine of the East," Mishra said on the sidelines of Bihar Business Connect 2024 first roadshow in Kolkata on Monday. Over 50 companies represented by some nearly 90 officials and industrialists attended the event. The state is prepared to participate in the country's development through Invest India, he said encouraging industries to explore Bihar's reality and potential before making any judgments. "We will come out with new sectoral policies

Bihar govt has formed committee to probe recent bridge collapses: Minister

The Bihar government has formed a high-level committee to investigate the recent bridge collapses across the state, including six incidents in the past 13 days. The latest collapse took place at Khausi Dangi village in Kishanganj on Sunday, involving a small bridge built over Boond river in 2009-10 with MPLAD funds. Most of the collapsed bridges, including those under construction, were either built or being constructed by the state's rural works department (RWD). RWD Minister Ashok Choudhary told PTI on Tuesday that the committee, headed by the chief engineer, will analyse the causes behind these collapses and recommend necessary corrective actions. "The department has constituted a high-level committee headed by chief engineer to probe recent incidents of bridge collapse that have been reported from different parts of the state. The committee will find out the reasons and also suggest remedial measures," he said. The committee, tasked specifically with incidents related to RWD-b

JD(U) names Sanjay Jha working prez, seeks spl status or package for Bihar

The Janata Dal (United) on Saturday appointed Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha as its working president and urged the Centre to consider either special category status or special package for Bihar, underlining the party's important role in the formation of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. The party's national executive meeting chaired by its president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar flagged price rise and unemployment as "burning issues", as its political resolution expressed confidence that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government would take more effective steps to handle them. The resolution called for extensive probe into paper leak cases to ensure stringent action against the guilty so as to maintain the credibility of central competitive exams. There is also a need for Parliament to enact a strong law against leaks of examination papers, it added. Kumar's decision to appoint his confidant as the party's working president, a position not held by ..

Nitish Kumar pushes for Bihar's special category status at key JDU meet

The demand for Bihar's special category status is crucial now as BJP relies on support from JD(U), which has 12 seats in the new Lok Sabha, to stay in power at the Centre

JD(U) names Sanjay Jha working prez, seeks special package for Bihar

The JD(U) appointed its Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Jha as working president on Saturday. The decision was taken at a meeting of its national executive where the party reiterated its demand for special category status for Bihar, while adding that the Centre could also consider an alternative in a special package, its senior leader Neeraj Kumar said. The BJP ally also demanded stringent action against culprits in exam paper leak cases and called for a strong law to rule out such incidents in the future. The decision to appoint Jha as working president is significant since he is known to have a good equation with the BJP leadership. He is also the party's leader in the Rajya Sabha. Party sources said Jha was well-suited to draw a good deal from the BJP and maintain a friendly relationship between the two parties, which have a history of bumpy ties. Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, Union ministers Lalan Singh and Ram Nath Thakur, and other senior leaders from aro

Bihar Police arrests four more in constable recruitment exam paper leak

The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police on Thursday arrested four persons, including three from West Bengal, in connection with the constable recruitment examination question paper leak on October 1, 2023, leading to its cancellation by the Central Selection Board of Constables (CSBC) on October 3. The arrested persons are Kaushik Kumar Kar and Sanjay Das, both residents of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, and Suman Bishwas from Kolkata. Another arrested person, Saurabh Bandhopadhay, hails from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, on June 5, the EOU had arrested Ashwani Ranjan, Vikki Kumar, and Aniket, all residents of Bihar and alleged members of the interstate Sanjeev Mukhiya gang, currently in judicial custody. Several members of the Mukhiya gang have already been arrested by Bihar Police in connection with the NEET (UG) and Bihar Public Service Commission's (BPSC) Teachers Recruitment Exam (TRE) - 3 paper leak cases. The EOU has so far registered a total of 74 FIRs across .

Lok Sabha highlights: Radical preacher Amritpal Singh fails to take oath as MP

Lok Sabha updates: As the 18th Lok Sabha began, Rahul Gandhi underscored that the Opposition-led INDIA bloc would not tolerate the alleged attacks on Constitution by PM Modi and Amit Shah

Bihar govt cancels Rs 826 crore-contracts given during coalition regime

The NDA government in Bihar cancelled 350 contracts totalling Rs 826 crore that were awarded during the previous RJD-led 'mahagathbandhan' government

Why hasn't Bihar been granted special category status: Cong to PM Modi

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bihar, the Congress on Wednesday attacked him and asked why hasn't the state been granted special category status as promised by him. The opposition party also asked why Patna University has been denied central university status. "As the 'one-third' Pradhan Mantri visits Bihar to inaugurate Nalanda University, some questions from the campaign that we hope he answers now - Why hasn't Bihar been granted Special Category Status as the PM had promised?" Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. "In 2014, when campaigning for his current position, Mr. Modi effectively promised special category status for Bihar. As per the Centre's own Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report, Bihar ranks as the poorest state in India, and 52% of the state's population lacks access to requisite health, education, and living standards," he said. In 2013, the Raghuram Rajan Committee recommended a new methodology for devolving funds that is bas

Return of 'coalition dharma'

Allies are newly empowered, but need not stand in the way of reform