New Delhi, July 16: Shaken, the BJP and JD(U) began hectic parleys on Friday after the Patna High Court ordered a CBI probe into the alleged irregular withdrawal of Rs 11,412.54 crores from the state treasury between 2002-03 and 2007-08 for different welfare and development schemes without making available required bills to the accountant-general of Bihar.
The Bihar Chief Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Sushil Modi (BJP), health minister Mr Nand Kishore Yadav (BJP) and 43 others have been named as accused in the case of “fraudulent withdrawal”.
The period of withdrawals includes 42 months of the Rabri Devi-led RJD-Congress government and 28 months of the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government. The High Court order, which comes soon after the state Assembly elections, is a blow to the Nitish-led government. Neither the BJP nor the JD(U) are willing to comment on the issue. The court directed the CBI director to be present before the court on July 26 when it would monitor the progress of the case. The legal brains of the saffron camp led by Mr Arun Jaitley are now working on the issue.
When asked, the BJP and JD(U) spokesmen maintained that they would not be able to comment as they had not yet read the order.