Patna: The BJP today said a scam was brewing in 'Badh Chala Bihar' (BCB) campaign launched by the state government and alleged that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was misusing government machinery for electoral purposes.
The saffron party, which is staking its claim to power in the coming Assembly elections in September-October this year,also demanded that Kumar should make public all the documents related to this campaign.
BCB was launched by Kumar on June 9 this year amid much fanfare and is supposed to ensure public participation in drafting development policies and produce a 'Bihar@2025' vision document.
Highlighting the issue, senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi told reporters about how the plan-expenditure budget of IPRD showed a quantum jump to Rs 90 crore in election year 2015-16 in comparison to Rs 18.64 crore in 2014-15.
This used to be around Rs 7 crore for three financial years from 2011 to 2014.
"The IPRD in its booklet mentions a 'special publicity campaign' which indicates to BCB. Surprisingly, the work allotment of this campaign has not been done according to government rules of governance (and) smells of mix-up and wrong doing," Modi said.
Modi added that work for this campaign has been allotted to a Noida-based firm 'Citizens Alliance Private Limited' which was registered under the Companies Act on February 17 this year with a capital of just Rs 1 lakh.
"It should be probed how this start-up company without any experience was allotted a work of several crores. There is no transparency in the campaign and its allotment. Kumar should make public all documents related to it as it could be a ploy to route government funds through it for the expenditure of ruling JD(U) in its election campaign," Modi said.
"We want Kumar to make public all information regarding entire expenditure involved in the campaign, when tenders for it were floated, which companies came, how was the work allotted and what was the criteria and process for work allotment," he added.
