Patna: Without naming CM Nitish Kumar, leader of opposition in the assembly Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Monday alleged that Bihar had failed on all parameters during the 21 years of NDA rule. His remarks came shortly after the passage of the Appropriation Bill for the 2026-27 state budget in the House. Later, rural works department minister Ashok Chaudhary countered his allegations and rejected his claims.“It is the NDA that has ruled over the state for 21 years. Under their rule, the state has fallen on all parameters,” Tejashwi told reporters outside the House.“The state’s coffers have become empty and the govt will be left with no money to pay the salaries of its employees. This is the result of the corruption and loot of public money,” he added.When approached again by reporters for further reaction, he said, “Even today, the state is rated as the most poor, most non-performing on employment creation and has maximum out migration of people. It figures highest on poverty, has lowest per capita income, has been non-performing in the education and sports sectors and is also nowhere in the investment for the establishment of industrial units.”He further alleged, “The govt’s functioning is marked by corruption, ‘kushasan (bad governance),’ dictatorial tendencies and ‘afsarshahi (dominance of bureaucracy)’. There is nothing in the budget. The replies that the ministers give to the listed questions of the House members during the question-hour are of the ‘ghisa-pita (routinely evasive type).’ It is a very unfortunate situation.”“It is equally unfortunate that there is no good govt in the state,” he said, adding that the govt had failed to control rising crime and that “incidents of murder and rape have become frequent.”The treasury benches strongly objected to his remarks. Rural works department minister Ashok Choudhary responded while speaking to media persons.“The govt’s issuance of the circular this month to stop payments to the contractors and agencies is of a routine type. It is aimed at preventing what in the past used to be called the ‘March loot,’ when large chunks of money used to be released and drawn in the month of March before the closure of the financial year,” Choudhary said.He also rejected Tejashwi’s allegation regarding empty state coffers. “He has alleged the emptying of the state’s coffers, because the govt has paid Rs 10,000 each to 1.81 crore women to start their business and trade activities. In making his claims, he has shown his double face. For, he, on the eve of the assembly elections, had announced to implement the ‘Mai Bahan’ scheme. Wherefrom he would have mustered the money required for it?” Choudhary asked.
