Rohini Acharya Criticizes Bihar Budget as “Hollow Bundle of Figures”

Patna: Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter, Rohini Acharya, has sharply criticized the Bihar government’s recently presented ₹3.47 lakh crore budget, calling it a “hollow bundle of figures” and “numerical sleight of hand.” Currently based in Singapore, Rohini shared her comments on the social media platform X, highlighting what she described as the disconnect between the state’s economic policy and human development indicators.

This year’s budget of ₹3,47,589.76 crore represents an increase of nearly ₹30,000 crore compared to last year’s ₹3.17 lakh crore. Despite the numerical growth, Rohini argued that the budget fails to address the real issues of human development, equitable growth, and economic well-being in Bihar.

“Numbers Without Substance”
On social media, Rohini wrote, “Before patting themselves on the back for presenting a budget full of numerical sleight of hand, the Nitish Kumar government must understand that Bihar’s greatest need today is an economic policy continuously evaluated against human development and well-being indicators. Unfortunately, the presented budget is silent on these aspects.”

She further added that the state’s policymakers may not realize that the “false drumbeat of development will soon collapse if citizens are denied basic rights, inequality persists, and labor continues to migrate out of the state.”

Accountability Demanded from Government
Rohini highlighted that Bihar remains one of the country’s poorest states in terms of per capita income, and recent economic survey reports show a decline in the state’s growth rate over the past two years. She also noted that over 250 factories have shifted from Bihar to other states in the last decade.

“Examining Nitish Kumar’s 20-year tenure from the perspective of budget and economic management reveals a glaring gap between the size of budget allocations and actual spending. Large portions of the budget remain unspent, proposals for central schemes are not submitted, and even when funds arrive, they often remain unutilized. Recently, the CAG exposed ₹72,000 crore of such unaccounted spending, confirming this pattern,” she wrote.

Rohini concluded, “Weak economic management, institutional inefficiencies, and corruption shielded by power have affected every government scheme and department. Viewed in this context, Bihar’s budget is more of a paper bundle of hollow announcements. To bring Bihar’s economy back on track, it is crucial that budgetary allocations and provisions are implemented effectively and realistically.”