RJD Leader Tejashwi Accuses Bihar Government Of Protecting Senior Officials In Tender Scam

Patna: Leader of Opposition in the Bihar assembly and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday accused the Bihar government of shielding senior officers and influential people in the tender scam, allegedly masterminded by contractor Rishu Shri.

He also asked whether the government would order an independent judicial inquiry into all tenders awarded to Rishu Shree and his associated companies.

Addressing a press conference at the state party headquarters, Tejashwi contended that despite filing a chargesheet in the tender scam many crucial questions remained unanswered. He also called chief minister Samrat Choudhary a "rubber stamp" CM, working on the instructions of the BJP high command.

“State agencies are busy protecting the corrupt as action is limited to lower-level officials even when major scams are exposed. The government is acting in a similar way in the tender scam,” he added.

RJD leader claimed that the tender scam was not just an isolated incident but an example of systemic corruption in Bihar. Government considers its responsibility fulfilled by taking action against lower-level employees, while protecting senior officials and influential people, he added. He asked why the chargesheet did not mention the names of alleged “big fish” if the investigation was fair. He also questioned why the names of IAS officers suspended in the alleged tender scam were not included in the chargesheet and why they had not yet been arrested.

“How was an ordinary contractor (Rishu Shri) able to manipulate tenders across several departments at will? What was the government's monitoring system doing all these years? Were officials ignoring everything for personal gain?” he asked.

“After the arrest of the then joint secretary of the finance department and engineers from the water resources department and building construction department, has the government reviewed how many crores of public funds they diverted? If so, why is it delaying making that amount public? Are people in the government still waiting to receive their ‘cut’?” he attacked government through his other poser.