Nitish govt 'misusing' public funds for election campaign: Tejashwi Yadav

Patna, April 19 (IANS) RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday claimed that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and JD(U) were "misusing" government funds under the guise of public outreach to fuel their political campaign for the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls.

Speaking at the party headquarters in Patna, Tejashwi claimed that government money is being "siphoned off" through initiatives like 'Mahila Samvad', which he alleged is a front for political propaganda.

"The Nitish Kumar government has ordered digital chariots worth Rs 225 crore in the name of Mahila Samvad," Tejashwi said.

He said: "Six hundred digital election chariots have been sanctioned using taxpayers' money, with the Rural Development Department spending Rs 225 crore on what they described as the CM's 'journey', a campaign that allegedly underwent multiple name changes to mask its true purpose."

Tejashwi accused the government of orchestrating large-scale financial mismanagement, saying that Rs 76,622 crore worth of schemes have been approved in just six to seven cabinet meetings since December 2024, most of which are construction-related.

He also pointed out that Rs 1,949 crore was sanctioned in a single cabinet meeting on December 19. "Ministers are taking 30 per cent commission on these projects," he claimed.

"Tenders are being rushed through to cover election costs, and local contractors are being sidelined in favour of outsiders," Tejashwi alleged, describing the situation as "loot of the government treasury."

He also warned about the growing debt of the state, stating that "Rs 25,000–30,000 crore is being paid annually as interest, amounting to 8-9 per cent of the state's total borrowing".

On Friday, Chief Minister Nitish launched the ambitious 'Mahila Samvad' campaign to reach out to over 2 crore women, inform them about the government's initiatives and make them informed and Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant).

As per the schedule, 600 events were held on the first day of the campaign and over the next 60 days, 70,000 Mahila Samvad programmes will be organised statewide.

--IANS

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