Patna/Katihar: The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Wednesday found itself in a tight spot over contracts worth crores of rupees having been awarded to many close relatives of Deputy Chief Minister Tar Kishor Prasad.
The matter came to light following media reports about contracts for Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal, a much-touted scheme launched by the Chief Minister half a decade ago that aims to bring tap water to every household in the state.
The reports said that in Katihar district, to which Prasad belongs, contracts worth Rs 53 crore were awarded to beneficiaries known to be close to him. One of them Puja Kumari is his daughter-in-law.
Reacting to the reports, the Congress on Wednesday demanded the sacking of the Bihar Deputy Chief Minister.
Addressing a press conference, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said: "It is not Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal scheme but Har Neta Theka Yojana (contract for every leader scheme)."
"BJP legislature party leader and Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tar Kishore Prasad's daughter-in-law, his brother-in-law and his colleagues have been given 36 contracts worth Rs 56 crore and Modiji, Naddaji and Nitish babu are saying everything is fine," Surjewala said.
"Does such a Deputy Chief Minister have any moral right to remain in office even for a day? He should resign or be sacked," he added.
Surjewala read out the details of the contracts awarded to Prasad's daughter-in-law, a company in which the Deputy Chief Minister's brother-in-law and his wife are directors. "Isn't this a conflict of interest? Shouldn't Tar Kishore Prasad resign immediately? Shouldn't J P Nadda seek his resignation immediately? Shouldn't Modiji and Amit Shahji come forward and speak against corruption? Why is Nitish Kumar silent? Shouldn't he take action?" Surjewala asked.
"BJP's name should now be changed to Bhayankar Ghotala Party (party ridden with scams)," he added.
The Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav was predictably furious.
It is a matter of conflict of interest. Prasad may not have been the Deputy CM when the contracts were awarded. But he was the local MLA. I have documents relating to this scam which I will be sharing with the media in the next few days, the RJD leader told reporters.
Yadav, an ex-Deputy CM himself, taunted Nitish Kumar, his former boss, over his alleged inability to act against the current deputy.
He (Nitish) will not dare speak or act against Tar Kishor Prasad. He cannot run the risk of Srijan scam files being reopened, remarked the RJD leader, tongue in cheek. The allusion was to a case of fraudulent withdrawal of money from the government treasury in Bhagalpur district which is being investigated by the CBI. The RJD has been insisting that the Chief Minister was wary of taking on the BJP, a dominant ally that also rules the Centre, out of fear of being hounded by the investigating agency which has often been accused of doing the bidding of the ruling dispensation of the day.
Meanwhile, senior RJD leader from Katihar Ram Krishan Mahto, who claims to have provided Tejashwi Yadav with all relevant documents, said he came to know of the alleged favouritism in awarding the contracts a year ago.
"I had provided these to the Leader of the Opposition with the request that he flag the matter on the floor of the Assembly. Though he has not been able to do so till now, he intends to raise the issue in the next session, said Mahto, who represented Katihar in the Assembly before losing the seat to Prasad in 2005. "There are many irregularities. In some instances, payments have been made even though the work was not complete. I demand that the Chief Minister drop Tar Kishor Prasad and get the matter investigated by a sitting judge of the Patna High Court," Mahto added.