Union budget: JD-U disappointed, chief minister Nitish Kumar welcomes

PATNA—The ruling JD-U in Bihar on Tuesday expressed displeasure over the Union budget presented by Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for ignoring the interests of the state although chief minister Nitish Kumar described it as “positive”.

 “The Union Budget might be historic for developed states. But for Bihar it is disappointing,” tweeted JD-U’s parliamentary board chairman Upendra Kushwaha shortly after the budget was presented it in the Lok Sabha.

Kushwaha who only recently joined the JD-U said the people of Bihar felt let down by the way the Centre “turned a deaf year to the demand for special category status”.

केन्द्रीय बजट विकसित राज्यों‌ के लिए ऐतिहासिक, परन्तु #बिहार के लिए निराशाजनक है। वित्तमंत्री श्रीमती @nsitharaman जी ने बिहार को #विशेष_राज्य का दर्जा देने की मांग को अनसुना कर हमसभी बिहारवासियों को निराश किया है।#देश_के_प्रधान_बिहार_पर_दें_ध्यान #BudgetSession2022

— Upendra Kushwaha (@UpendraKushJDU) February 1, 2022

Party spokesperson Ranbir Nandan also made similar observations. “We had a very high hope that the Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman would give some decision in the direction of granting special category status to Bihar in this budget. But, we are once again disappointed,” Nandan told The Times of India.

JD-U state secretary Santosh Kushwaha was also quoted as saying that denial of special category status to Bihar has come as a huge disappointment to the people of Bihar.

The BJP, the key alliance partner in the ruling NDA government in Bihar, slammed the JD-U for making such comments in public.

“If somebody, despite having been a Union minister, expects the budget to announce special category status, one can only pity his ignorance,” state BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal was quoted as saying by the PTI.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, on the other hand, praised the budget, describing it as “positive and balanced” which, he said, will boost up the nation’s growth.

“Country’s growth got badly affected due to the Covid crisis in the past two years. Now in a bid to give a push to the nation’s growth, the Union government has initiated various measures which are worth praising,” the chief minister said.