Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav, in a fierce attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accused him of failure to realise a self-reliant economy despite 20 years of uninterrupted rule in the state.
Participating in a discussion on the state budget in the assembly on Monday, the RJD leader sought to expose the Nitish government with figures. He said Bihar’s economy is dependent on the funds received from the Central government.
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“Despite 20 years of Nitish Kumar’s rule, Bihar is dependent on funds from the Central government. Bihar’s own revenue is only 27 per cent whereas Gujarat’s is 73 per cent, Tamil Nadu’s is 76 per cent, and neighbouring UP’s own revenue is 46 per cent. These figures show why Bihar’s economy has not been able to become self-reliant,” he added.
Tejashwi accused Nitish Kumar of drowning the state in debt, saying the government did not disclose in the budget how much debt the state has and how much the people of Bihar have.
Referring to the figures for 2024-25, he said, “Bihar has a debt of Rs 3.19 lakh crore. That means, every Bihari has a debt of Rs 25,000. This debt has been incurred during the rule of Nitish Kumar, who loves to be called Bihar’s Vikas Purush.”
Tejashwi further said, “According to RBI, AG and state government sources, Bihar’s debt is increasing by 10 per cent every year. While the state is earning 5 per cent profit in revenue, it spends 7.5 per cent of the total budget only in repaying the debt, which is about Rs 20,526 crore annually.”
“This year being an election year, the budget was increased by Rs 39,000 crore. I want to know the source of such high revenue that encouraged the government to increase the budget,” he said.
Targeting the government on the issue of corruption, he said it is at a peak in government offices and is spread from top to bottom. “If you visit a block even for an ordinary job, you would realise that the Circle Officer (CO) refuses to sign a file without bribe. They are fearless because they are controlled by the chief minister himself.”
He said a total of 1 crore cases, including mutation and jamabandi cases, were filed since 2008. Out of which 55 lakh cases were rejected. About 2 lakh cases are still pending in many districts. “When a ruler loses control over power, even a watchman wouldn’t listen to his orders. The chief minister has lost control,” he added.
