PATNA: Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, criticised the budget presented by the NDA government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday, calling it written with the 'ink of lies'.
Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented a budget of Rs 3.17 lakh crore for the 2025-26 fiscal in the Assembly.
Reacting to the budget, Tejashwi said that while the budget has been presented, revenue is not coming in.
Calling the budget exaggerated, the former Deputy Chief Minister said, “Budget jhooth ki syahi se likha hua hai” (the budget has been written with the 'ink of lies'). He referred to several issues that were not mentioned in the budget.
He alleged that no stadium had been built in the state in the last 10 years, yet the government has proposed building an outdoor stadium in every block.
Taking a dig at frequent incidents of bridge and culvert collapses, the RJD leader said that while he was concerned about Bihar, the government was only worried about saving itself.
When told that this was the last budget of the NDA government led by Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi said they were aware that they would not return to power after the Assembly polls.
"That's why they have only made promises. They will not bother to fulfil them," he added.
Earlier, Samrat Chaudhary presented the state budget of Rs 3.17 lakh crore in the Assembly. The budget proposed spending Rs 60,954 crore on education, Rs 20,335 crore on health, Rs 16,193 crore on rural development, and Rs 13,483 crore on energy during the 2025-26 fiscal.
The government has proposed setting up ‘Mahila Haat’ for women in Patna and ‘Kanya Vivah Mandap’ in all panchayats of the state to facilitate mass weddings for the poor. He also proposed opening a cancer hospital in Begusarai, as the highest number of cancer patients come from that district.
He further proposed setting up degree colleges in 358 blocks and 108 urban health centres for the treatment of the economically weaker sections of society. Similarly, pink buses will be introduced for women, which will be operated exclusively by women.
For migrant labourers from Bihar, the government has proposed setting up rehabilitation-cum-training centres in cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, Surat, and Delhi.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appeared delighted with the budget. He patted his deputy on the back soon after he finished his budget speech in the Assembly.
