CAG Report Reveals ₹80,000 Crore in Pending UC and DC Bills. Tejashwi Yadav Calls it a Scam, While Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary Attributes the Delay to the Mahagathbandhan Government's Tenure.
Bihar Politics: A political storm has erupted in Bihar over the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) report. Tejashwi Yadav has accused the government of an ₹80,000 crore scam, while Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary has attributed the matter to the period of the Mahagathbandhan government. Both leaders are now talking about taking this issue to the public.
Political Stir Due to CAG Report
Politics in Bihar has once again heated up. This time, the reason is the CAG report, which reveals information regarding pending UC (Utilization Certificate) and DC (Detailed Contingent Bill) amounts with the state government. The report states that as of March 31, 2024, approximately ₹70,877 crore in UC and ₹9,205 crore in DC bills are pending.
Based on this report, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has accused the government of an ₹80,000 crore scam. In response, Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary retorted that this amount pertains to the time when Tejashwi himself was the Deputy Chief Minister.
Tejashwi's Allegation: Why is the Government Silent on the ₹80,000 Crore Scam?
During a press conference on Wednesday, Tejashwi Yadav said that this is not a minor matter. If the government is not responding, it means that something is definitely amiss. He stated that the CAG report clearly states that the government has not yet provided utilization certificates (UC) for expenditures worth thousands of crores of rupees.
Tejashwi said that this money belongs to the public, and it is the government's responsibility to account for it. He alleged that the government's silence indicates that a scam has occurred in this entire matter.
He said that one engine of the double-engine government is engaged in crime and the other in corruption. If everything is fine, then why is the government not giving a clear answer as to how such a large amount was utilized and why is its record not available.
Tejashwi Raises Questions
Tejashwi Yadav said that this matter requires investigation, but agencies like the ED and CBI will not conduct impartial investigations because they are acting like political tools of the BJP. He said that even then, the government will have to answer to the public.
Samrat Choudhary's Response
Responding immediately to Tejashwi Yadav's allegations, Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary held a counter press conference. He said that the pending UC and DC bills that Tejashwi is talking about mostly belong to the period when Tejashwi himself was the Deputy Chief Minister. If there has been a scam, it belongs to the same government in which Tejashwi Yadav played a prominent role. He informed that out of the total ₹1.15 lakh crore of pending UCs, ₹50,000 crore has been adjusted in the last four months.
Finance Department Had Already Clarified the Situation
Samrat Choudhary said that the Principal Secretary of the Finance Department had already clarified the situation on this entire matter. He stated that the pending utilization certificates are not a new thing. It is a continuous process and does not directly imply a scam. He said that the lowest amount of UC has been pending in 2024, and this is on record. In such a situation, this allegation by Tejashwi Yadav is baseless and misleading.
Misunderstanding Regarding the CAG Report?
The Deputy CM also said that Tejashwi either has incomplete information or is deliberately misleading the public. The committee that considers the CAG report is the Public Accounts Committee, whose current chairman is RJD MLA Bhai Virendra and previously was Lalit Yadav.
