Tejashwi Yadav Questions Nitish Kumar over Expensive Mahila Samvad Yatra

Tejashwi Yadav, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, criticised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday, ahead of his Mahila Samvad Yatra, questioning the substantial allocation of Rs 225.78 crore for the initiative.

The Mahila Samvad Yatra is scheduled to begin on December 15 in Bagaha, West Champaran, and will span 15 days during which Nitish Kumar will interact with women and children across Bihar's districts.

Yadav's critique centred on the financial outlay, framing it as an extravagant use of taxpayer's money.

He remarked, "Money makes business deals, not dialogue. For communication, it requires love, not money."

He further questioned how such a massive expenditure for a 15-day event, accusing the government of using public funds for political endeavours.

The significant budget allocation has drawn sharp scrutiny from the Opposition, with claims that the initiative may prioritise optics over meaningful outcomes. However, the Bihar government has defended the yatra as a platform to strengthen dialogue with women and address their concerns at the grassroots level.

Tejashwi Yadav accused the Chief Minister of prioritising an "expensive election picnic" over addressing the state's pressing issues when it is grappling with chronic challenges.

“In the last 20 years, unemployment, migration, inflation, crime, and massive corruption have increased drastically. Bihar remains a backward state, yet the Chief Minister of such a state is going on an expensive election picnic,” he said.

Highlighting failures of governance during Nitish Kumar's tenure, Yadav pointed to incidents like the destruction of bridges and culverts due to poor planning, lives lost in recurring hooch tragedies, alleged corruption in smart metre projects, and the failure of the liquor prohibition law.

Yadav also criticised the lack of tangible outcomes for women and children on the ground, stating, “There is nothing concrete for women and children, yet he is ready to expend billions of rupees through bureaucrats.”