Nitish Kumar rejects allegations of political volte-face
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today rejected opposition RJD's allegation that he had done a political volte-face by walking out of the Grand Alliance and re-joined the BJP-led NDA.
Without naming RJD or any of its leaders, Kumar, who is also the JD(U) national president, asserted that he had not turned his back on any of his government's agenda but found it difficult to work with people who believed in using power for amassing wealth.
"It is often said about me - 'palat gaye' (did a volte- face). I wish to point out that I have never turned my back on any of the agenda set by the government headed by me," he said at a function held on the occasion of the birth anniversary of former chief minister Karpoori Thakur.
"I am always of the view that while in power, we have to serve the people. But some people have different beliefs - they think power is meant for amassing huge wealth. I found myself incapable of working with such elements.
"The Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) was not formed for indulging in mischief and committing wrongdoing. There is a limit to which I could have compromised. When the limit was crossed, I had to take the decision that best suited the interests of Bihar," the chief minister said.
Kumar had returned to power in 2015 after the emphatic victory of the Grand Alliance comprising the JD(U), the RJD and the Congress in the Assembly polls.
RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's sons Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav were made the deputy chief minister and the health minister respectively.
Kumar, however, ditched the alliance in July last year after the RJD refused to heed to his suggestion that Tejashwi Yadav gives a public explanation about money laundering cases in which his name had cropped up.
Kumar then formed a new government in alliance with the BJP and returned to the NDA.
Since then, RJD leaders have been severely critical of Kumar and have accused him of "betraying the mandate".
Paying rich tributes to Thakur, a towering leader who had been a mentor to both Kumar and Prasad, the chief minister said he was an epitome of love and simplicity and only those who try to imbibe these qualities can claim to be his true successors.
Kumar also indirectly accused the opposition party of having "stage-managed" the recent attack on his convoy in Buxar and trying to discourage people from taking part in the state-wide human chain programme on January 21.
"When stones were being hurled at me I was puzzled as I was planning to get down from my vehicle and speak to the people. I know who were behind the incident but have asked officials not to be harsh on those arrested for it. Once out of jail, these misguided people will repent what they did," the chief minister said.
The human chain programme by the JD(U) was against dowry and child marriage, the two issues which have been taken up by Kumar.
"Those who stood beside me holding my hand during the human chain last year in support of the ban on alcohol have now started finding faults with the policy. I also know that people were dissuaded from taking part in the human chain we formed against child marriage and dowry," Kumar said.
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LoP Ashoka accuses Karnataka govt of 'diverting' SC/ST funds for guarantees
Bengaluru (PTI): Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, on Tuesday accused the state government of "diverting funds" meant for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under the SCSP and TSP components to finance its guarantee schemes. He also alleged that the budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has undermined the principle of social justice.
During the discussion on the 2026–27 state budget in the assembly, the BJP leader claimed that substantial portions of funds earmarked for Dalit welfare had been diverted for other schemes over the past four years.
He also questioned the implementation of allocations under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP), saying the government has "failed" to ensure that the money actually reached the intended communities.
“Today, the money here has been diverted. In this diversion of funds, social justice has been ignored. If the money meant for Dalits is looted, can that be called social justice?” he asked while criticising the government’s handling of SC/ST allocations.
According to the opposition leader, around Rs 14,198 crore had been diverted in the current financial year alone from SCSP and TSP allocations to various guarantee schemes announced by the government.
Listing the expenditure under these programmes, the former Deputy CM said Rs 8,296.32 crore had been allocated for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, Rs 1,537 crore for Shakti, Rs 1,612 crore for Anna Bhagya, Rs 2,591.6 crore for Gruha Jyothi and Rs 1,062 crore for Yuva Nidhi.
“In total, Rs 14,198 crore has been diverted this year,” he said.
He further claimed that the diversion of funds had increased over the years.
“In 2023–24, Rs 11,144 crore was taken from SC/ST funds. In 2024–25, Rs 14,282.68 crore was taken. In 2025–26, Rs 13,343.84 crore was taken. In 2026–27, Rs 14,198.97 crore has been taken.”
“This amount keeps increasing year after year. In total, Rs 53,059.45 crore belonging to SC/ST communities has been taken during Siddaramaiah’s tenure,” he added.
Ashoka said that although the budget documents projected large allocations for Dalit welfare, the actual funds reaching the beneficiaries were significantly lower.
The government had earmarked Rs 44,632 crore for SC/ST communities in 2026–27, but once the diversion towards guarantee schemes was removed, the effective amount available was much less, he added.
The BJP leader also referred to a review meeting on January 31 to examine the utilisation of SCSP and TSP funds.
As per the review, Ashoka said only a part of the sanctioned amount had actually been released and spent.
“For SCSP, Rs 29,872 crore was allocated, but by January 27, only Rs 16,699 crore had been released, and the expenditure was Rs 15,391 crore."
Similarly, under the Tribal Sub-Plan, he alleged that Rs 11,900 crore had been allocated, but only Rs 6,521 crore was released and Rs 6,002 crore spent by the end of January.
“Even after eleven months, only about 50 per cent of the funds were released by the Finance department.”
Ashoka also criticised the allocation of SC/ST funds to departments and schemes that he said had little direct relevance to the welfare of those communities.
These included wildlife conservation programmes in the forest department, the tiger conservation project, maintenance of hospital buildings, and IT policy formulation.
“How are Dalits related to wildlife conservation? Are there SC tigers and ST elephants? How can funds meant for Dalits be used for tiger conservation?” he asked.
He also objected to funds being allocated from SC/ST components to institutions such as the Sanjay Gandhi Trauma and Orthopaedic Institute in Bengaluru and for Public Works Department buildings.
The opposition leader also charged that the government hiked taxes and prices of various commodities and services ranging from milk to petrol, vehicles, drinking water, sewerage cess, electricity, metro rail and bus fare, school and college fees, property taxes in Bengaluru, property e-Khata fee, A-Khata conversion, exam fee and birth and death certificate issuance.
“People are being taxed for digging cellar. The mines and geology department has issued notices to people. This is unheard of for me,” Ashoka said.
