Nitish seeks Pranab's 'blessings' for Bihar

Patna: Rallying support for special category status to Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today sought the “blessings” of President Pranab Mukherjee in this regard. “Bihar requires special status in its endeavour to become a developed state… I seek your (President’s) blessings for it,” he said at a function held to unveil the state’s agriculture roadmap for the next five years by Mukherjee. Kumar had last month launched his ‘Adhikar Yatra’ to create pressure on the Centre to accord the special status to the state. [caption id=“attachment_478231” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Pranab Mukherjee.[/caption] Kumar apprised the president of the benefits of the agriculture road map, formulated in 2008-1012, and said the seeds replacement rate has gone up by 35 per cent to boost the productivity of foodgrains, including paddy. Kumar thanked Mukherjee for keeping his promise to visit Bihar after being elected to the highest post and urged him to visit the state at regular intervals. Seeking to establish a emotional chord, he said the people of Bihar have strong emotional ties with those of West Bengal, from where Mukherjee hails, and share similar socio-economic and cultural values. PTI