PATNA, July 31 -- Congress leader Pawan Khera on Wednesday demanded a judicial inquiry into Rs.70,877 crore irregularities, cited in the recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) tabled in the state assembly, alleging that the BJP-JD(U) alliance had orchestrated a massive fraud, which amount to about one-third of the total budgetary expenses of the state. Talking to media persons at the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) office, known as Sadaquat Ashram, Khera, also chairman of the All India Congress Committee's media department, claimed that the Nitish-Modi dispensation in Bihar had been indulging in financial swindling for the past many years, and thereby stole the benefits of several schemes. Khera began with biting sarcasm: "I bring good news for Bihar - development has happened, bridges have been built, 24-hour electricity supply is in place, education and jobs are available, but the people don't know because the government has no account of it." He highlighted the CAG's findings that 49,649 utilisation certificates (UCs), critical for verifying fund usage, worth Rs.70,877.61 crore are still missing for submission to the CAG as of March 31, 2024. "This violates rule 271(e) of the Bihar Treasury Code, 2011, mandating UC submission within 18 months of expenditure. "One-third of Bihar's budget, nearly Rs.70,000 crore, has been made to vanish by Modi and Nitish, funds that could have transformed Bihar's development," Khera said, noting dilapidated bridges, crumbling government buildings, and chaotic systems as evidence of the scam's impact. The CAG report pinpointed the panchayati raj department as the largest defaulter, with pending UCs worth Rs.28,154.10 crore, followed by education (Rs.12,623.67 crore), urban development and housing (Rs.11,065.50 crore), rural Development (Rs.7,800.48 crore), and agriculture (Rs.2,107.63 crore). Other departments, including cooperatives (Rs.804.69 crore), health (Rs.860.33 crore), backward and extremely backward welfare (Rs.911.08 crore), social welfare (Rs.941.92 crore), and scheduled castes and tribes welfare (Rs.1,397.43 crore), also failed to submit UCs. Additionally, Rs.9,205.76 crore in detailed contingent (DC) bills against 22,130 abstract contingent (AC) bills have not yet been submitted, raising fears of misappropriation. Khera stated, "Never in independent India's history has such a massive loot of public funds occurred as this BJP-JD(U) government has inflicted on Bihar's poor." RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had earlier dubbed the irregularities a "Nitish-Modi theft," likening it to the Srijan scam. The Indian Chartered Accountants Association, led by national president CA Sanjay Kumar Jha, reinforced this, calling it a "multi-year financial scam." Jha demanded a special investigation team (SIT), punitive action against defaulting departments, and a judicial review of the Public Accounts Committee's inaction, warning that silence would signal "financial anarchy and corruption" in India's federal structure. The association plans to submit a detailed report to the Union finance ministry, CAG, NITI Aayog, and the Bihar legislature. The CAG report also revealed that over the past five years (2019-24), the Bihar government failed to utilise Rs.3,59,667 crore of budgeted funds, with 40% tied to centrally sponsored schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (with savings of 45.59% to 51.76%) and Mid-Day Meal (up to 68.24% savings in 2023-24). Khera criticized the government for neglecting education, health, and welfare schemes for Dalits, backward classes, women, and minorities, stating, "The BJP-JD(U) government has dealt an unimaginable blow to the development of Bihar's marginalized communities." Khera demanded a judicial inquiry into the Rs.70,000 crore scam and announced a statewide campaign by the party to expose the government's financial mismanagement, vowing, "We will take this issue to every village, and the people of Bihar will hold this government accountable at the ballot box." The press conference, attended by leaders like Premchandra Mishra, Abhay Dubey, Jitendra Gupta, Sanjeev Singh, Rajesh Rathore, Mukesh Yadav, and Yashwant, underscored the opposition's resolve. The Nitish Kumar government has yet to respond, but the Rs.70,000 crore scam could redefine Bihar's electoral landscape....