Vinay Bihari. File
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
BiharBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Lauriya assembly constituency, Vinay Bihari, is not happy with his own government’s decision and criticised it for distributing ₹10000 crore to JEEViKA didis before the 2025 assembly election.
The former Minister also raised questions over the issues of age limits in politics, the salaries and pensions received by politicians, and the eligibility to contest elections.
His video, dated September 21, 2026, has gone viral on social media in which he is directly raising questions about the functioning of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.
Speaking to the district reporters in Buxar, Mr. Bihari said, “If we are already doing developmental work and development is visible, then what was the need to distribute money during election time? Due to that, today’s developmental work is being hampered.”
He further argued that the development will take place if there is a burden of debt, and challenges will arise in mobilising resources for schemes in the future also.
Mr. Bihari also expressed apprehension that he may face disciplinary action for speaking against the government.
“For me, the Bharatiya Janata Party is like a temple; however, if something goes wrong even in a temple, my conscience tells me to speak out about it. I do not know whether I should speak or not, but speaking less will cost votes, speaking more will cost a ticket, and speaking excessively will cost your head. I do not know what the consequences of this statement would be, and I may be punished,”Mr. Bihari said.
Months before the Assembly election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the scheme through videoconferencing from Delhi and directly transferred ₹7,500 crore into the bank accounts of 75 lakh women across Bihar.
So far, the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government has transferred money to over 1.81 crore women under Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana with an aim to empower women through financial assistance to start their own businesses. The opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress in Bihar have repeatedly accused the state government of winning the election by giving bribes before the election. More recently, the opposition has claimed that the state treasury is bankrupt due to freebies announced during the election.
Earlier Mr. Bihari had criticised the government over prohibition in the state. He had said that liquor was being sold everywhere in Bihar and police were very much aware about it. He had even demanded review of the prohibition law.
The BJP MLA also questioned how a person in prison could contest elections, whereas an ordinary citizen in jail is barred from voting. He asked about salaries and pensions received by politicians, given that politics is supposed to be a form of public service. Mr. Bihari asked why there should be provisions for salary and pension in return for such service.
Asked about party MLA speaking the language of opposition, Bihar BJP spokesperson Kuntal Krishna told The Hindu, “There is 100% democracy in our party but there are places, there are times, there are issues on which everyone is free to tell. You have to be conscious about the place and issue where you are speaking. Democracy does not mean that you will speak whatever you want. There is no scarcity of funds in the state, and he may not be aware of it. JEEViKA didis deserved that; they have done excellent work in Bihar and have created the domestic market of nearly ₹60000 crore.”
RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmed supported the BJP MLA’s stand, saying that he spoke from his conscience and alleged that the NDA has formed the government by giving bribes to women before the election.
Published – September 24, 2026 04:22 am IST
