OP Sah

Patna, July 14: The president of the Bihar Chambers of Commerce, O.P. Sah, has come out vociferously in support of the state being granted special category status by the Centre.

“We have suffered all kinds of economic deprivation and exploitation long enough and we qualify on all counts to get special status,” Sah said, even as the ruling Janata Dal (United) revved up its political campaign on the issue.

Top central and state JD(U) leaders led a sit-in at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar yesterday where more than one crore signatures in support of the special status demand were showcased.

The party plans to hold a mass rally in Patna to pitch the demand at a new level.

“As people who have a long-standing stake in the economic uplift of Bihar, we have to lend our voice to this demand,” Sah told The Telegraph.

“It is after a long time that the state has acquired committed and focused leadership in chief minister Nitish Kumar.”

Sah disagreed that the JD(U)’s campaign is politically motivated, saying: “For decades now, Bihar’s economic rights have been stymied by the Centre. After the creation of Jharkhand, the bulk of our natural resources too have been taken away, this is a genuine cause being fought in the interest of the people of the state.”

Formerly boss of the Bihar Industries Association, Sah was part of the delegation that Nitish took on a weeklong visit to China recently.

“It was a new and varied experience, in many ways enriching for what the Chinese have been able to do with their economic transformation,” Sah said of the visit.

“In our own state, we are trying to find new ways for business and industry to make the best of a government that is pro-development.”