New Delhi, July 22 (HBTV): Ahead of the union budget, Bihar has suffered a major setback as Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on Monday, July 22 made it clear that the state will not get special status. His remarks came as a written reply to Janata Dal United (JDU) leader Ramprit t Mandal's demand for special status. Mandal asked the minister to give details if Bihar is to get special status or else provide the reason.

In his written reply, Minister Chaudhary said that based on the 2012 report of the inter-ministerial group, Bihar cannot be given the status of a special state.

He said that in the past, the National Development Council (NDC) had given special category status to some states for plan assistance, which had many characteristics that required special consideration. In the case of Bihar, the circumstances are not such that it should be given the status of a special state. Because of this, Bihar cannot be given the status of a special state.

In the reply of Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, it has been said that the decision not to give special state status to Bihar was taken after considering the specific situation of the state separately keeping in mind these five factors. Earlier, Bihar's request for special category status was considered by an inter-ministerial group (IMG), which submitted its report on March 30, 2012. The IMG had come to the conclusion that on the basis of the existing NDC criteria, a case for special category status for Bihar is not made out.