On Saturday, 27th May, Chief Ministers of 8 states did not attend the 8th NITI Aayog meeting organized in New Delhi, and one of them was Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar. Talking to reporters on the same day, at an event to commemorate Jawaharlal Nehru on his death anniversary, Kumar said, “When I received the schedule for the meeting, I sought a change in the timings since they clashed with the event here”.
“They, however, did not agree to change the meeting’s timing. Had they even agreed to hold the meeting in the afternoon, I would have been able to attend the same”, added the Bihar CM. He further said that his party had sent a few other names who could represent the state, but that option was turned down as well, and therefore, Bihar remained unrepresented.
He added that he had a number of important points to be raised during the meeting, including the issue of caste census, and the legal hurdles which hit the survey which was undertaken at the state level. He also wanted to talk about the long-standing issue of giving a ‘special status’ to Bihar, and the need for greater assistance from the centre to poor states.
It is to be noted that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JDU is also boycotting the inauguration of the new Parliament complex at the national capital tomorrow, and Kumar has stated that there is no need of a new Parliament building. His party is also a part of the ‘opposition unity’ against the BJP.
