BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi today said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to impose prohibition in all BJP-ruled states, should have "extended his pledge" to rooting out crime and corruption in Bihar.
"For how long will Kumar let criminals go scot-free...And at the same time continue to take pledge on enforcement of prohibition in Bihar?" he asked.
Sushil Modi's comments came a day after Kumar said he would not mind "embracing death" than give up his stand on total prohibition in Bihar.
Hitting out at the Chief Minister for taking "frequent" pledges on enforcement of total prohibition, Sushil cited various instances of crime in the state and asked Kumar to "extend" his vow to "eliminate crime with the same zeal".
"Will you take a pledge to root out crime and corruption in Bihar?" he asked.
The BJP leader also slammed Kumar for the 10+2 toppers' scandal in the state, in which the role of former Bihar School Examination Board chairman Lalkeshwar Singh and principal of V R College in Vaishali district Bachcha Rai have come to light, alleging, "The accused enjoyed political patronage.
He said only 15 lakh BPL families have been given power
connection in Bihar out of 83 lakh such families.
The former deputy chief minister also charged the state government with failing to clear outstanding dues of Rs. 1486 crore to NTPC for purchase of power and added that one unit of the 2x250 thermal power plant at Kanti in Muzaffarpur stands shut as the state government has not yet paid Rs 198 crore to NTPC that it had incurred on renovation of the plant.
The financial condition of the Bihar State Power Holding Company, the nodal company for power generation, transmission and distribution, was in bad shape as it has been running monthly loss of Rs. 200 crore due to inadequate collection of electricity bills from consumers at Rs. 470 crore per month against expenditure of Rs. 975 crore, he said.
