The NDA government and the opposition traded charges over the multi-crore Srijan scam as the issue rocked the Bihar legislature again today with the RJD, Congress and CPI-ML pressing for resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi.
The opposition RJD, Congress and CPI-ML members also staged a walkout from the Assembly.
As the Assembly met for the day, RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui drew the attention of Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary to his adjournment notice on the alleged scam and urged him to suspend other businesses to take up the matter.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shrawan Kumar objected to it and said the House should be run according to rules and the adjournment notice should be taken up only after the question hour.
With the din refusing to die, the Speaker adjourned the house till noon.
After the house reassembled, Siddiqui once again raised the Srijan scam issue.
Irked by remarks of treasury bench members, Siddiqui threatened that no minister would be allowed to speak if they continued to disturb the opposition members.
When the Parliamentary Affairs minister objected to Siddiqui's statement, the RJD MLAs trooped into the Well of the house led by Siddiqui.
Amid the slogan shouting by the opposition, Sushil Modi, who holds the Finance and Commercial Taxes portfolio, introduced a bill on Entry tax.
Later, the RJD, Congress and CPI-ML staged a walkout from the House.
Modi targeted the RJD on the alleged fraudulent transfer of crores of government money to Srijan Mahila Sahyog Samiti at Bhagalpur.
Showing documents, Modi alleged that Srijan NGO was allowed office space at a government building named 'Trysam' at Bhagalpur in 2000 when Rabri Devi was the Chief Minister.
"Srijan was given 24 decibel space in Trysam building on a 30-year lease by the order of the then district magistrate of Bhagalpur in 2003 and a lease deed was signed to this effect on February 25, 2004," he said.
"The lease was later extended for 50 years in the same year," he said quoting documents.
Modi also showed another document of 2000 to claim that the then Bhagalpur district magistrate allowed the opening of bank account of Srijan with the cooperative bank and permitted it to keep government money in its accounts down to the block level.
"The RJD government led by Rabri Devi was in the state in between 2000 and 2004 when these favours were given to Srijan," the Deputy CM said even as his party MLAs shouted 'Chor Machaye Shor' (a thief is raising a hue and cry) against the RJD.
Government funds to the tune of Rs 950 crore were allegedly illegaly diverted to the account of NGO Srijan in Bhagalpur in the scam.
Later, Modi tried to drag the Congress into the controversy. Speaking to reporters, he alleged that one of the alleged key players of the scam Rajni Priya, who is absconding with her husband, is the daughter of a Congress leader from Jharkhand and niece of a former Union minister.
Asked about his accountability as he served as the MP of Bhagalpur from 2000 to 2004 and was the Deputy CM and the finance minister during the previous NDA rule, Modi said, "Nobody had complained or informed me of the irregularities in the NGO."
Modi also urged the Speaker to expunge "unparliamentary" words used by the opposition against him and the chief minister from the House proceedings.
The Speaker said that he has already ordered deletion of those words.
In the state legislative council, RJD's Subodh Kumar raised the Srijan scam issue and amid the din created by RJD and Congress members, the House was adjourned till 2.30 pm.
After the house reassembled in the post-lunch session, the RJD members continued to create a din and Deputy Chairman Harun Rashid ordered the house marshals to evict them from the the House.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Sushil Kumar Modi were present in the Upper House at that time.
Leader of Opposition Tejaswi Yadav and Abdul Bari Siddiqui came down heavily on the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister on the issue of Srijan scam.
On Sushil Modi questioning his inaction as Finance minister in Grand Alliance government, Siddiqui told reporters outside Assembly, "I am ready to quit my Assembly seat. Let the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister tender their resignation for an impartial probe by CBI under Supreme Court or High Court supervision."
Tejaswi Yadav equated Srijan scam with Vyapam scam of Madhya Pradesh and alleged that the "killing" of an accused in the NGO scam case in Bhagalpur was done "on behalf of the state government".
He was referring to the death of arrested accused Mahesh Mandal who, according to police, died at a hospital in Bihar's Bhagalpur district due to illness.
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