'Empty claims': Chirag Paswan on Jan Suraaj's allegation of Modi govt diverting World Bank funds for Bihar polls

LJP(RV) leader Chirag Paswan with with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Sunday rejected the accusations made by Jan Suraaj spokesperson Pavan Varma, who had suggested that money from the World Bank -- allegedly allocated for a different scheme -- was redirected by the Centre during the Bihar Assembly elections and handed out to women voters.

Varma made levelled allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of misusing the fund for electoral gains in Bihar after Jan Suraaj failed to win a single seat in its Bihar elections debut.

Addressing reporters, Paswan dismissed the charge outright, wondering aloud about the origins of Varma’s claims. “Where do they get this data from, this information from?... Making empty claims -- if you have any facts, present it and the Govt will respond,” he remarked, questioning both the credibility and the intent behind the allegations.

Varma, in an earlier conversation with ANI, had raised concerns about Bihar’s fiscal condition, saying that “the public debt in Bihar is at present 4,06,000 crore” and that the state pays “63 crore” daily as interest.

According to him, “the treasury is empty,” and his team had received inputs -- though he acknowledged they could be incorrect -- suggesting that the Rs 10,000 transferred to women in the state was actually drawn from “Rs 21,000 crore, which came from the World Bank for some other project.”

He further claimed that “an hour before the moral code of conduct for the polls, Rs 14,000 crore were taken out and distributed to 1.25 crore women in the state.”

At the same time, Varma added a note of caution, stating, “As I have said, this is our information. If it is wrong, I seek forgiveness.” Yet he argued that if the information turned out to be accurate, it would raise questions about ethics even if “legally, you cannot do anything.”

He suggested that governments could reroute funds and justify the move after elections, warning that the effect of monetary transfers on voters could differ from that of campaign promises, especially with polls also due in states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

He also referred to what he described as widespread rumours in Bihar, mentioning that “the remaining women felt that if the NDA does not come to power, then we will not receive the benefit.” Varma pointed out that Bihar has “four crore women voters,” and among them, “2.5 crores have not received the amount.”

Reflecting on his party’s performance, he admitted that their expectations may have been high but insisted that “our message was right and the response was good.”

The ruling NDA got 202 seats, a three-fourths majority in the 243-member House. This is the second time the NDA has crossed the 200-mark in the assembly polls. In the 2010 polls, it had won 206 seats.

Mahagathbandhan got just 35 seats with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) winning 25 seats, Congress 6, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) (CPI(ML)(L)) two, Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) one and, Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) one seat.

With ANI inputs