As deputy CM, Tejashwi Prasad got 44 ACs fitted in his house: BJP

PATNA: A day after the state government’s building construction department (BCD) principal secretary Chanchal Kumar claimed that RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav didn’t overspend or misuse government funds on renovation of his 5, Deshratna Marg bungalow during his tenure as deputy CM, BJP senior and present deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi on Saturday reiterated his charge that the younger son of Lalu Prasad did spend “lavishly” on the bungalow.

SuMo reiterated that Tejashwi misused his position as deputy CM and spent extravagantly on the said bungalow. “After all, under which rules Tejashwi got fitted furniture worth Rs 59 lakh from the bridge construction corporation, besides renovations worth crores of rupees from the BCD?” he asked.

“Moreover, under which rules Tejashwi got fitted 44 airconditioners (ACs), some of them even in bathrooms, 35 costly leather sofas, 464 fancy LED lights, 108 fans, costly billiards table, wooden panel on walls, wooden floors and imported granite flooring in one bungalow?” SuMo asked in a statement on Saturday.

Modi said it was only after Tejashwi’s extravagant spending and decorations like a 7-star hotel in the said bungalow that the BCD had to issue guidelines on spending on government bungalows so that no minister in future could misuse the government money on decoration of their bungalows like Tejashwi did.

“Had Tejashwi not misused government money and taken hold of the bungalow, the Supreme Court would not have imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on him (Tejashwi) to get him vacated from the bungalow,” Modi said.

Earlier on Friday, Chanchal Kumar, while giving a clean chit to Tejashwi, had said that the funds from the BCD were used for different things at different times and hence the permitted budget was not exceeded.

“No enquiry has been initiated regarding the alleged over-expenditure by Tejashwi on the said bungalow. Government money has been spent on the bungalow, but under different heads at different times. If it was spent together, it would have needed the approval of the cabinet or finance department. No extra money has been spent,” Kumar had categorically told reporters.

Coincidentally, Kumar is also the principal secretary to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. He is holding this post for the last several years as he is considered one of the confidantes of the chief minister. Chanchal’s clean chit to Tejashwi is being considered in political circles as a green signal from his political boss.

The 5, Deshratna Marg bungalow, adjacent to the chief minister’s official residence, was allotted to Tejashwi in January 2016, months after he became deputy CM in the grand alliance government. It was assigned to Sushil Modi in 2017 after the Janata Dal (United) realigned with the BJP and he became the deputy CM. Tejashwi took legal recourse against his evacuation but the Patna high court, in October 2018, ordered him to vacate the bungalow. Tejashwi then moved the Supreme Court against the verdict, only to be imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 in February by the SC, which upheld the HC order.