Jan Suraaj alleges Rs 14,000 cr World Bank funds diverted for Bihar Polls

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 alleged that the scale and timing of the pay-outs 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.

He 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 a news agency.

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. The Central government has not yet issued an official response. Meanwhile, the controversy intensifies discussions around electoral reforms and the protection of voter interests in Bihar and across the country. WITH AGENCY INPUTS