Bihar, Andhra Pradesh reiterate their demand for special category status

 andhrapradesh | Written by : Suryaa Desk Updated: Mon, Jun 18, 2018, 03:42 PM

NEW DELHI: With Bihar and Andhra Pradesh reiterating their demand for special category status, the government said it was committed to adhere to statutory provisions in place at the time of bifurcation of states in "letter and spirit". Speaking after the meeting of the governing council, Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar said PM Narendra Modi had clarified the centre's position on the claims of some states for special category status.

"Some states did raise the issue of their per capita income being below the national average and so having the right to special status," Kumar said. "The discussions were more focused on the statutory provisions that were in place at the time of bifurcation of states and the PM said the central government was committed in letter and spirit to adhere to those provisions," he added.

At the meeting, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu demanded special category status for their states.

PM calls for debate on simultaneous polls: PM Modi reiterated his call for "widespread" debate on holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, saying it would result in financial saving. He stated that to start with the states must think of uniform voter list.

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