NEW DELHI: Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party on Sunday claimed that World Bank funds meant for some other project were diverted and transferred to women voters ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections.Jan Suraaj spokesperson Pavan Verma said the scale and timing of the payouts under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana had not only tilted the electoral field but were also sanctioned just an hour before the Model Code of Conduct came into force.
Also read: In 35 seats, Prashant Kishor’s party tally more than win marginHe said the party had received information that Rs 14,000 crore out of a total Rs 21,000 crore linked to a World Bank-funded project had been used for this purpose. “The public debt in Bihar is at present 4,06,000 crores. The interest per day is 63 crores. The treasury is empty. We have information which could be wrong, also that the amount of Rs 10,000 given to women in the state was given from Rs 21,000 crores, which came from the World Bank for some other project. 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,” he claimed in an interview with news agency ANI.
Chirag Paswan calls it ’empty claims’
Union minister Chirag Paswan dismissed the allegations outright, questioning both the credibility of the data and the intent behind the accusations. “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,” the LJP(RV) chief said, as quoted by ANI.
People of Bihar did not want the jungle raj to return: Jan Suraaj
Verma further rejected suggestions that Prashant Kishor’s stand on lifting the liquor ban had damaged the party. He argued instead that the prohibition regime was already ineffective, with liquor “being sold at every nook and corner” and even home-delivered at inflated prices. He noted that over two lakh people, mostly from extremely backward Dalit communities, had been jailed under the prohibition law. “People are consuming it and paying more for it. Would that not affect women who have to run their homes?” he asked.
Despite mounting a high-energy campaign and contesting all 243 seats, Jan Suraaj failed to win a single constituency. Verma said last-minute cash transfers, women-centric schemes, and a consolidation among voters who did not want the “jungle raaj” of the RJD to return proved decisive. “Nitish ji was theThe 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 and Congress 6.(With inputs from agencies)
