The Budget Session of the Bihar Legislative Assembly started on Monday with the address of Governor Arif Mohammad Khan. In his joint address to the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council, the Governor highlighted the achievements of the Bihar government.
He spoke about the ‘Saat Nischay 3’ (Seven Resolves 3) scheme and said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s government is committed to provide one crore jobs and employment opportunities in the state over the next five years.
He said that maintaining the rule of law and communal harmony is the government’s top priority, and that the government is working toward the goal of “development with justice.”
After the Governor’s address, the Economic Survey report was presented. Following this, the proceedings were adjourned till Tuesday.
Reacting to the Governor’s address, Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav said it was the same old story. “We have been in the House for ten years. No matter who the Governor is, everyone delivers the same rehearsed speech, reading exactly what the government gives them. There are several schemes mentioned that the government copied from us before coming to power. The Governor’s speech presents an optimistic picture, but the ground reality is quite different,” he added.
He said the law-and-order situation in Bihar is no secret. “Murders, rapes, robberies, kidnappings, and shootings are taking place in broad daylight. There is corruption in many schemes. Go to any block office or police station, corruption is rampant everywhere.”
Regarding the decision to hand over the investigation into the death of a NEET student to the CBI, the RJD leader said that there are many such cases where investigations were handed over to the CBI, but years have passed and no results have emerged. “The government talks about development with justice, but its actions are completely the opposite,” he added.
Meanwhile, even before the proceedings began on the first day of the session, the opposition launched an offensive against the Nitish government. Ahead of the Assembly proceedings, Congress MLA Qamrul Hoda staged a protest outside the House over the NEET aspirant’s suspicious death. Holding placards, he demanded that the issue be included in the Governor’s address.
RJD MLA Bhai Virendra said, “The session is starting today. We will strongly oppose every wrong policy of the government. The government is confused over the incident involving a NEET student. Members of families of senior NDA leaders are involved in it.”