'Lalu’s slogan of ‘sammaan chaiye, vikas nahi’ halted Bihar’s development': Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday took a swipe at former Bihar CM and RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav by saying that Lalu’s slogan of ‘Sammaan Chaiye, Vikas Nahi’ (we need social justice and respect, not development) led to a complete halt in Bihar’s development.

Addressing a press conference in Patna, Bihar, Sitharaman said, “Bihar’s growth was adversely affected due to ‘jungal raj’ before 2005. The per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Bihar was Rs 21,282 in 1991, higher than in Odisha. But during ‘jungal raj' it came down to Rs 14,209, almost a 33 per cent drop in the Bihar per capita GDP. Post 2002, Bihar's per capita grew, though at a steady rate of 5 per cent on average every year to Rs 37,000 by 2019...Without the misgovernance during the 'Jungle Raj', Bihar's per capita income would have risen to Rs 95,330 by 2019...”

In response to a question about granting special status to Bihar, Sitharaman said, "There have been talks about it, and a decision will be taken on it."

Sitharaman stated that the NDA-led Central government prioritises the accelerated growth of eastern states. She mentioned that the government wants states like Bihar, West Bengal, and Odisha to become engines of growth, contributing to the goal of making India a developed country by 2047.

She further said that the effect of Jungle Raj was seen not only on law and order in Bihar but also on the economic condition of the state and its people.

The Finance Minister also highlighted the substantial increase in tax devolution to Bihar under Prime Minister Modi's leadership. She noted that from 2004 to 2014, Bihar received Rs 204,134 crore through tax devolution. However, from 2014 to 2024, this amount increased to Rs 707,187 crore, marking a 3.5-fold rise solely due to tax devolutions.