Patna Apr 20 PTI Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday hit out at the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar alleging that the NDA dispensation in the state is pursuing communal and divisive agendaHe also accused the state government of failing to generate employment opportunities maintain law and order and address farmers issuesRecent reports of the central governments agencies - CAG Comptroller and Auditor General of India and NITI Aayog - showed the Bihar government as a failure on almost all indicators The Bihar government is not serious about meeting the basic needs of people The NDA government in the state is simply pursuing communal and divisive agenda Yadav wrote in a letter titled Dil Ki Baat to residents of the state on WednesdayThe problem of education migration and unemployment is at its peak in Bihar under the so-called double engine government he saidThe condition of law and order is bad and corruption is rampant in every field said the RJD leaderHe also alleged that the Nitish Kumar government has failed to fulfil its promises made before the 2020 assembly polls in the stateHe stated that the NDA parties which have been ruling Bihar for the last 17 years will never think for the well-being of peopleAs per the Niti Aayogs Multi-dimensional Poverty Index MPI Bihar has the highest proportion of multidimensionally poor people 5191 per cent of the states populationPoverty under MPI was measured on three equally weighted dimensions - health education and standard of living PTI PKD BDC BDC

Patna Apr 19 PTI All secular parties in the country must come together and field a joint candidate to take on the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance NDA in the upcoming presidential election D Raja the general secretary of the CPI said here on TuesdayRaja also stated that he met RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav here on Monday and deliberated on the ideaTalking to reporters he said I have been meeting leaders of all secular democratic parties to discuss about the need to field a joint opposition candidate for the presidential election Our party seeks to support a common candidate put up by the secular parties We will also hold consultations with the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and other secular parties If a common candidate is fielded it will be really helpful the Communist Party of India CPI leader addedThe tenure of the current President of India Ram Nath Kovind is set to end in July this yearThe electoral college for the presidential election consists of elected MPs and MLAs from statesWhile an MPs vote has a value of 708 the vote value of MLAs differs from one state to anotherEchoing Raja another CPI leader Atul Kumar Anjan said the secular parties must unite against the saffron party-led NDA at the Centre The BJP suffered a major setback in the by-elections held recently in four states of the country The partys strength in Parliament and assemblies cannot exceed that of all opposition parties taken together he statedAnjan also said that the CPI would be strengthening its base in the state in the days to comeThe party will organize a four-day state-level conference from September 18 in Banka district in the state he added PTI PKD RMS RMS

Patna Apr 18 PTI A woman who was facing marital problems allegedly consumed some poisonous substance outside the venue where Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar holds his weekly public interaction programme on Monday a police officer saidShe was taken to a hospital and is now out of dangerThe incident took place in the evening and by the time the Janata Ke Darbaar Mein Mukhyamantri programme was over Patna Senior Superintendent of Police SSP Manavjit Singh Dhillon said The woman who is in her late 30s is a resident of Naubatpur in Patna She is facing some marital problems and her husband is in jail She consumed poison outside the venue of the CMs Janata Ke Darbar programme Dhillon saidPolice personnel posted there noticed her and took her to the Patna Medical College and HospitalAfter a thorough examination and proper treatment she was declared out of danger by the doctors Later she was handed over to her parents said the SSPEfforts are on to find out why she had taken that step he said PTI PKD NN NN

Patna Mar 31 PTI Over 3880 utilisation certificates of various projects and schemes of the Bihar government totalling Rs 92687 crore from 2019 to 2021 were not submitted till the end of FY21 according to a CAG reportThe report of the Comptroller and Auditor General CAG of India for the financial year 2020-21 was tabled in the state assembly on WednesdayThe state government provided budgetary support equity loans grants and subsidies and accepted liability of Rs 2014584 crore to 35 state public sector undertakings during the period for which their accounts were in arrears as of March 31 2021These PSUs have not finalised their accounts for the last one to 44 years in violation of provisions of the companies acts of the respective statutory corporationsPSUs I am therefore unable to discharge my responsibilities with regard to the certification of accounts of these PSUs as required under CAGs DPC Act 1971 Comptroller and Auditor General of India Girish Chandra Murmu said in his audit observationsDuring 2020-21 fiscal 608 UCs amounting to Rs 1591162 crore were not submitted by bodies and authorities of the state as against the grant-in-aid provided by the Bihar government the CAG saidIn addition 3278 UCs totalling Rs 7677569 crore due for submission up to 2019-20 were also outstanding by the end of March 2021 the report saidThus a total of 3886 UCs amounting to Rs 9268731 crore were due for submission as on March 31 2021 it saidThe high pendency of UCs is fraught with risk of misappropriation of fund the CAG saidThe major defaulting departments are panchayati raj education and social welfare the report added PTI PKD BDC BDC

Patna Mar 25 PTI Emergency response number 112 will become operational in Bihar in the next financial year state Planning and Development Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said on FridayPeople can call the toll-free number for all emergency services including police fire and health he told the assembly while speaking on the budgetary demand of the Home DepartmentThe ERSS a pan-India single number 112 based emergency response system for citizens in emergencies will become operational in the state in the financial year 2022-23 he saidAfter operationalisation of the ERSS Emergency Response Support System all the emergency calls will be received and further diverted to related departments for swift help to distressed callers The ERSS centre will function 24 hours he saidThe ERSS project will be implemented in the state phase-wise starting with Patna a senior official of the Home Department later saidThe ERSS is a central project for emergency response It also provides funds to the states for it he saidMeanwhile the House witnessed an intense debate with RJD members opposing the allocation of additional funds to the Home Department in the financial year 2022-23After Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha declared the budgetary demand as passed by a voice vote RJD sought a division of votesRuling out a division the speaker said he will go for a headcount of those supporting and opposing it The speaker later announced that the demand has the support of 113 members while 60 opposed it PTI PKD SOM SOM

Patna March 24 PTI The Bihar government will soon start the process of fencing around 4500 temples or mutts in the state minister Pramod Kumar told the Assembly on ThursdayKumar said the measure was being taken to prevent encroachment of temple landThe planning and development department on March 11 requested the home department to release funds for building fences around 4500 registered temples and mutts in the state the law minister saidThe minister further stated that his department has directed administrative heads of all districts to appoint nodal officers to manage the functioning of another 2176 unregistered temples or mutts Instructions have also been issued to furnish revenue records of 3212 acres worth several crores of rupees belonging to these unregistered temples These properties will soon be declared as government land after certain changes are made in the existing laws said KumarAfter the appointment of the nodal officers these unregistered temples will function under the direct supervision of the Bihar State Religious Trust Council BSRTC said the ministerEchoing similar view Ram Surat Rai Bihar minister for land reforms and revenue said the decision to run the temples under BSRTC had been taken to stop large-scale irregularities PTI PKD RMS RMS

Patna Mar 23 PTI Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha on Wednesday took a serious view of the repeated absence of certain ministers at the time of tabling the budgetary demands of their respective departments in the ongoing budget sessionThe credibility of legislatures is linked to the conduct of their members he saidProceedings of the House cannot be taken lightly either by ministers or members And I must say that the precedence of tabling the budgetary demand of a particular department by the minister concerned must be followed as it is an important annual legislative business Sinha told PTIThe Speaker said he conveyed this to the members of the treasury benches during the dayHe however refused to reveal the names of ministers who remained absent at the time of tabling the budgetary demands of their respective departmentsThe ministers who are supposed to lay papers on the table of the house should not be absent I am not talking about extreme circumstances but it should not become a habit Sinha saidSenior leaders of political parties must ensure that members follow the rules strictly and maintain the dignity of the House he said PTI PKD NN NN

Patna Mar 23 PTI RJD president Lalu Prasads elder son Tej Pratap Yadav on Wednesday demanded that his father who is undergoing treatment in hospital be immediately released from jail Yadav an RJD MLA was talking to reporters on the assembly premises a day after Prasad was shifted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS New Delhi in an air ambulance from Ranchi where he was serving sentence in a fodder scam case He was undergoing treatment at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences RIMS in the Jharkhand capital and his health condition had deteriorated I have seen my father being repeatedly put in jail having been implicated in a case he had sought to crack 35-year-old Yadav said He alleged that government officials who were primarily responsible for fraudulent withdrawal of money to the tune of about Rs 1000 crore from various districts of undivided Bihar were roaming freely while his father was being made to suffer despite old age and multiple ailments Training his guns at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Prasads arch rival the RJD leader alleged He Kumar is an accused in a murder case and would have faced life imprisonment but for an alliance with the BJP Notably the murder case relating to an incident of poll violence was lodged in the 1990s when Kumar was an MP from the now abolished constituency of Barh Criminal proceedings against Kumar were however set aside by the Patna High Court three years ago PTI PKD NAC ACD ACD

Patna Mar 23 PTI Opposition parties created a ruckus inside the Bihar Assembly on Wednesday over suspected hooch deaths in various districts of the dry state around HoliThe matter was raised during zero hour to which Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary suggested that the issue be raised when discussion on budgetary outlay for Home Department takes placeHowever MLAs of the Congress RJD and the Left kept shouting slogans demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and many of them entered the wellAs the bedlam continued Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha adjourned the proceedings nearly half an hour before lunch break till 2 PMSale and consumption of liquor was completely banned in the state by the Nitish Kumar government in April 2016 However consumption of spurious liquor and deaths caused thereby have put a question mark on implementation of the stringent prohibition law PTI PKD NAC MM MM

Patna Feb 28 PTI The Bihar assembly on Monday sought a reply from the DGP and the state Home Secretary on improper behaviour of two junior police officers towards Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha recently which has been deemed to be in violation of protocol and privileges of members of the HouseThe reply has been sought in 15 days and pending inquiry the removal of the two officials from their respective posts in Lakhisarai district has been advisedThe action was taken at a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee and the House was apprised of the same by the Speaker himselfThe Speaker who represents Lakhisarai constituency had a run in with the two officers - a Deputy SP and an SHO - when he took up the matter of arrest of two social workers there who have been accused of violating prohibitionThe meeting was convened after opposition members rumpus inside the House over three issues forced adjournment of proceedings for about an hourThe issues besides lack of courtesy towards Speaker on part of police officials were an incident of alleged mob lynching by suspected cow vigilantes and a BJP MLA calling for disenfranchisement of MuslimsThe MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul who has been chastised by his party for the outrageous remark clarified before journalists that he had sought to express disgust over MLAs belonging to Asaduddin Owaisis AIMIM refusing to recite the national song Vande MataramNonetheless the Speaker told the House that members will be allowed to air their views during a discussion on faith in the Constitution and its principles and responsibilities of membersHowever after Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishor Prasad tabled the budget and the Motion of Thanks to the Governors address was moved opposition members created a ruckus demanding that debate on the BJP MLAs intemperance be held right awayBachaul rose in his seat and sought to explain the circumstances in which he had ended up making the controversial remarkThis however angered the opposition MLAs even more Many of them trooped into the well and raised slogans demanding that a ninda prastav censure motion be brought against the BJP legislatorThe House went ahead with the debate on Motion of Thanks amid a walkout staged by the opposition PTI PKD NAC MM MM