Patna, Feb 3 (IANS) After the Nitish government presented a Rs 3.47 lakh crore budget for Bihar on Tuesday, RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Rohini Acharya launched a scathing attack on the government, alleging that a large portion of the state budget remains unspent every year and accusing the government of indulging in statistical manipulation.​

In a long post on social media platform X, Rohini Acharya said the Nitish government should stop congratulating itself and instead focus on human development and public welfare, which she claimed were completely ignored in the budget.​

“Before patting itself on the back for presenting a budget full of statistical manipulation, the Nitish Kumar government needs to understand that an economic policy which continuously evaluates human development and indicators of human well-being alongside economic growth is the greatest need of Bihar today. Unfortunately, the budget presented today is silent on this,” she wrote.​

Rohini Acharya warned that what she termed the government’s false propaganda of development would soon collapse if basic services are not provided as a right, economic inequality is not reduced, and mass workforce migration continues unchecked.​

She pointed out that Bihar remains among the most backward states in terms of per capita income, adding that the Economic Survey released a day earlier shows a declining growth rate over the last two years.​

She further claimed that around 250 factories have shifted out of Bihar in the past decade, reflecting the failure of industrial policy.​

Criticizing Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s two decades in power, Rohini Acharya alleged serious lapses in budgetary and economic management.​

According to her, there is a huge gap between the budget size and the actual implementation of schemes.​

A large portion of the budget remains unspent. Proposals for funds under major central schemes are often not even sent.​

Even when central funds are received, they are not utilised properly.​

She further alleged that financial transparency is missing, stating that even when money is spent, proper accounts and records are not maintained.​

Referring to a recent CAG report, Rohini Acharya claimed that the exposure of Rs 72,000 crore reflects widespread mismanagement.​

She alleged that no government department or scheme has been immune from weak economic governance, institutional failure, and politically protected corruption.​

Summing up her criticism, she wrote, “Considering all these aspects, the conclusion is that Bihar’s budget is nothing more than a bundle of papers filled with hollow declarations.”​

She added that what Bihar urgently needs is not announcements, but the proper and honest implementation of budgetary provisions to put the state’s economy back on track.

​–IANS

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