Patna,(BiharTimes): Former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi is of the view that though his party supports the special category status for Bihar, it would solve only five per cent of the problem of the state. Instead what Bihar needs is the special package of Rs 50,000 crore.

Talking to the media Modi, who also served as state’s finance minister for over seven years said it is the special package which would accelerate the development process and help place Bihar in the rank of developed states in the next five years.

The senior BJP leader said the chief minister has created an impression that the special category status would be a panacea to all the problems plaguing Bihar.

But the truth is that chief minister Nitish Kumar is only creating a hype over the demand, Modi said adding that the special status would only allow tax holiday on private investments. Apart from this it would bring down state share in centrally sponsored schemes. So, the special category would only have a limited role while special package would be more meaningful.

Incidentally, this is the first time the BJP has sought special package for Bihar.

In fact the then Rabri Devi government sought a special package of Rs 179,000 crore for Bihar after the bifurcation of the state as all the minerals went to Jharkhand. Even the Bihar Assembly passed a unanimous resolution in this regard. But neither the then BJP-led NDA government, and later the UPA government, fulfilled the demand of the state.