Chirag's crime remarks show weakness, no concern for Bihar: Tejashwi Yadav

Patna: A day after Union Minister Chirag Paswan slammed the Nitish Kumar government over the law and order situation in Bihar, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday claimed that the Hajipur MP's comment showed his "weakness" as a ruling NDA partner, and alleged that he has "no real concerns" for the state.

Yadav was reacting to the remarks of Chirag, the chief of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), which drew a sharp reaction from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD (U), exposing cracks in the NDA ahead of the assembly polls.

The leader of the opposition seemed unimpressed with Chirag's decision to contest the Bihar assembly elections due later this year.

"Chiarg Paswan has merely demonstrated his weakness as a minister and as a coalition partner. His comments show he loves only his chair and has no real concerns for Bihar," Yadav alleged.

Paswan had on Saturday said, "Law and order have completely collapsed in the state. The police have surrendered to criminals in Bihar. I regret having to support a government which is unable to prevent such crimes. The situation of Bihar has, indeed, become scary." Yadav also alleged that there is "no law and order" in the state.

Asked about the incident of alleged gang-rape of a woman inside an ambulance in Gayaji, Yadav said, "It's shocking and shameful. Just imagine the law and order situation in the state."

"More than 100 murders took place in the last one week in the state. They (NDA) call it a double-engine government. One engine is crime, and another is corruption. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has pulled up the Bihar government for failing to submit utilisation certificates (UCs) worth over Rs 70,877 crore. There is a scam of more than Rs 70,000 crore," the RJD leader alleged.

The CAG report on state finances for 2023-24 was tabled in the state assembly on Thursday.

"Despite the requirement of submitting UCs within stipulated time period, 49,649 outstanding UCs of Rs 70,877.61 crore were not received by the Accountant General (Accounts & Entitlements), Bihar, as on March 31, 2024", the report had said.

The high pendency of UCs is "fraught with the risk of embezzlement, misappropriation and diversion of funds", it added.

Union minister and founder of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) Jitan Ram Manjhi on Sunday slammed Paswan for his outbursts over the alleged increase in crimes in Bihar.

"He (Chirag) is a new entrant in politics. He has not seen the days of jungle raj in the state before 2005. If he is not aware of the situation during the RJD rule, he should not make such comments. Now, the law and order situation is undoubtedly much better. Bihar is rapidly developing under the NDA rule", he told reporters in Gayaji.