Bihar Deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad meets CM Nitish Kumar, state BJP sends report

Meanwhile, the Bihar BJP unit has sent a “report” to the party’s central leadership on The Indian Express investigation into the award of contracts to family members of Prasad. Sources said the report was sent after an “emergency meeting” on Wednesday evening when BJP state chief Sanjay Jaiswal and general secretary (organisation) Bhikubhai Dalsaniya met Prasad.

BJP sources said the “emergency meeting was held on the instructions of the central leadership”. We have sent a report and are waiting for further directions,” they said.

Sources said that while engaging in business activities is “not bad or wrong” in itself, the report has noted that “it would be better if elected functionaries are more careful since they are public representatives and always under scrutiny”.

The ongoing investigation by The Indian Express found that in 2019-20, Bihar’s PHED allotted 36 projects under the scheme in Katihar, from where Prasad is a four-time MLA, to his daughter-in-law Puja Kumari — and two firms linked to his brother-in-law Pradeep Kumar Bhagat; and aides Prashant Chandra Jaiswal, Lalit Kishore Prasad and Santosh Kumar.

The investigation found that the award of contracts covers a range of beneficiaries: from JD(U) ex-state secretary Anil Singh, whose family got projects worth at least Rs 80 crore, to BJP MLA Vinod Narayan Jha’s nephew, who was awarded contracts worth around Rs 3.5 crore in 2019-20 when his uncle was PHED Minister.

On Wednesday, Jaiswal had defended Prasad, saying that his “family and aides had got contracts in 2019-20 when he was an MLA”.

On Thursday, JD(U) leader Anil Singh’s son Mrityunjay Kumar told The Indian Express: “My family has been in the contract business for over 40 years. We have carried out road work, and taken up other contracts inside and outside Bihar. We have been doing our work in a professional manner. The allotment of Nal Jal contracts has nothing to do with the political affiliation of my father. We qualified through the bidding process.”

The Indian Express found that Kumar and his wife Ankita Singh are directors of Fadle Chem Pvt Ltd, which was allotted Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal contracts in 2019-20.

Another beneficiary, Mohammed Sarfaraz of Sheikhpura whose brother Mohammed Khalid got contracts in Ariari, said: “I engage in politics but I am not associated with any specific party. I am the former mukhiya of Chordargah panchayat.”

On the Nal Jal contracts awarded to Mukesh Singh in Gopalganj, his father and state secretary of the JD(U) farmers’ cell Ramashish Singh claimed that his son was “not a Nal Jal contractor” and “only assisted some people” in some wards.

Mukesh Singh had told The Indian Express: “I was allotted work in 2016-17 and completed it long ago.” He was responding to a query about records which showed that he was allotted work by the Panchayati Raj Department in 12 wards — six each in Vishnupura and Basdiha panchayats — totalling about Rs 1.3 crore.

With inputs from Liz Mathew