Patna: With the Comptroller and Auditor General of India finding financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 2,656.18 crore in the railways, RJD president and former Railway minister Lalu Prasad stood "exposed", Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said here on Saturday.
"The claims of management guru that the railways
earned a profit of Rs 90,000 crore during his regime is bogus
and fictitious... I have been saying this from the very
beginning and now the CAG has detected the financial
irregularities," Kumar told reporters here.
In its latest report, the CAG observed blocking of
scarce resources due to non-conforming rules, lacunae in
extant rules, poor planning and deficiencies in stores and
contract management resulted in substantial losses to the
Railway during 2007-08.
Asked to comment on Prasad`s comment that he was not
in the Railways now and the railway officers should explain to
CAG`s remarks, Kumar said, "Laluji is duty bound to explain as
he took the credit of railways earnings profits and should not
blame the officers now."
Asserting the Railways was never in the red during his
(Kumar`s) stint in the Railway Board as projected by Prasad,
Kumar predicted Prasad`s claims of making huge profits by
"fudging figures" would be exposed by the white paper made by
Mamata Banerjee on the financial condition of the railways.
"If the Railways earned huge profits then why did
Prasad sought budgetary support and the railway projects such
as Railway overbridge over Ganga at Munger, Harnaut Railway
factory and doubling of Rajgir-Tilaiya-Koderma railway line
continue to languish," the Chief Minister said.
In a dig at his bete noire, Kumar wished Prasad good
luck so that "he continues to make a flop show at every stage
now".
"Prasad never behaved like a Railway minister, he
always acted as if he was the Prime Minister of the Railways,"
Kumar went on in his broadside.
Referring to the `fill the jail` campaign by LJP
president Ram Vilas Paswan to highlight the "failures" of his
government, Kumar said Paswan should play the role of active
Opposition. "The jails in Bihar are overflowing and Paswan
should not cause misery to the prisoners," he said in a
lighter vein.
Taking exception to certain derogatory remarks
reportedly made by the Surat Municipal Corporation
Commissioner against migrants, Kumar said he would talk to the
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in this connection.
"The Biharis have played a vital role in the
development of Surat and none has the right to belittle
them," Kumar said.
He said the trading community from Gujarat had
requested Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi to appeal to
the Bihari labourers and others to visit as their business was
getting hit in the absence of labourers.
Bureau Report
