Jan Suraaj claims Rs 14,000 crore World Bank funds diverted to give Rs 10,000 to Bihar women voters by NDA govt

Jan Suraaj spokesperson and senior party strategist Pavan Verma has levelled serious allegations that funds meant for a World Bank-supported project were redirected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for use in the Bihar Assembly elections. According to him, money was withdrawn from a World Bank allocation and distributed to women voters under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana in the poll-bound state. He noted that Rs 10,000 had been credited to the accounts of 1.25 crore women in Bihar, but claimed that the timing and the source of the money raised doubts.

In an interview with ANI, Verma referred to information he said the party had received. “The public debt in Bihar is at present 4,06,000 crores. The interest per day is 63 crores. The treasury is empty,” he remarked, before adding that the party had heard -- though he said it could be inaccurate -- that the Rs 10,000 transfer “was given from Rs 21,000 crores, which came from the World Bank for some other project.” He also claimed that “an hour before the moral code of conduct for the polls, Rs 14,000 crores were taken out and distributed to 1.25 crore women in the state.”

Verma insisted he was not presenting the information as established fact. “As I have said, this is our information. If it is wrong, I seek forgiveness. But if it is true, then the question arises as to how far this is ethical,” he said. He suggested that governments may legally reallocate funds and justify their decisions later, but warned that such transfers during election periods inevitably influence voters. He also mentioned rumours circulating among voters: “There are 4 crore women voters in Bihar, and 2.5 crores have not received the amount. The remaining women felt that if the NDA does not come to power, then we will not receive the benefit.”

The Jan Suraaj leader argued that the sudden financial distribution overshadowed the messaging of his newly launched party. He said, “Our ambitions being a new party were excessive, but our message was right and the response was good.” Asked whether schemes like the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana changed the electoral equation, he pointed to earlier comments by the Prime Minister. “PM Modi has himself criticised giving freebies. Maybe he had said it in the context of the Delhi Assembly and former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. Now what happened in Bihar?” he asked.