On the one hand Anna’s protest at Jantar Mantar was creating history while on the other hand probe was going on in Bihar as the state treasury faces a loss of 407 crores. CAG was investigating the case. The current report of CAG says that against the rules, none of the departments informed the Accountant General about the forgery and also could not give an account of the action taken against those who were held responsible for this irregularity in the state treasury. CAG said that 1021 incidences of irregularity were found in 23 departments of the state.
It must be mentioned here that during his protest against corruption Anna openly lauded Nitish Kumar. In addition, he said that the other states must follow his footsteps. It seems that the well experienced Anna Hazare failed to notice the existing corruption in Bihar. Former councilor PK Sinha says that there is a lot of difference between Anna Hazare and Nitish Kumar. On the one hand Anna talks about banning liquor and on the other hand Nitish has given approval to open many wine and liquor shops. Anna is dead against the inclusion of tainted ministers in politics whereas Nitish has left no stone unturned to protect such leaders. Anna believes in democracy but Nitish has full faith in the bureaucracy. Now, the condition is such that day to day affairs of the state also cannot be transacted without bribery.
CAG says that the matters related to the AC-DC bill are not over yet. RJD leader Rambihari Singh believes that officers spent huge money from the state treasury to stage a welcome for Nitish Kumar. Now, the officers are not able to account properly for the money spent. If the government’s intention is right then it should recommend a CBI probe over this matter.
CAG has said that the finance department is very lax in Bihar. Despite this Anna examplifies Bihar. Corruption has also increased in the villages but Nitish does not accept this and says that villages are developing. If we look at the entire matter from another angle we will see that the public has learnt to live with corruption. A tea stall owner in Bihar said, “What we can do Sir, for our survival we need to bribe. As the day ends after working hard I have to give commission to the people so that I can run my stall the next day. We have to survive so we have to do this. Life has taught us to cope with corruption.”
Nitish Kumar is claiming to have eradicate corruption in his second tenure. Schemes in Bihar are expanding and they need huge expenditure for their proper implementation. But this money goes in the pockets of middlemen. So, this way money is spent but not over development. Nitish has said many times, “Though it is tough to fight against corruption but we will not leave the culprits”. If Nitish manages to fulfill his promises then it is fine otherwise the public will put Anna in the dock for his lopsided comments lauding Nitish.
