Bihar Chief Mnister Nitish Kumar's biggest rival Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday scorned Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi's quick budget calculation and his inference that the young leader will not be able to fund his promise of 10 lakh jobs.
"It is very amusing to know that the Chief Minister does not know it after running the government for 15 years. He is making himself a laughingstock. So much of this is planned expenditure," he said, pointing to the vacant posts in various spheres including teaching.
And what about the money lost in scams, he questioned. "Over the last years, Bihar was robbed of Rs 30,000 crore in 60 scams. It was money from the budget. It was the people's money," he said.
"He (Nitish Kumar) has spent Rs 500 crore in brush up in image, in advertisements. All of this is planned budget," he said.
The mammoth crowds in Tejashwi Yadav's rallies appear to have un-nerved the ruling allies of the state -- the BJP and Nitish Kumar's Janata dal United. After ignoring Tejaswi Yadav for long and then dismissing him as a political lightweight, Mr Kumar and his deputy have started reacting to his political claims and promises.
Between Tuesday and Wednesday, both Mr Kumar and his Deputy attempted to punch holes in his 10 lakh jobs promise -- which according to RJD has had a big resonance. While Mr Modi has come up with a rough budget break-up to probe that 10 lakh jobs can't be funded, Mr Kumar has questioned if the opposition planned to raise money "from prison or by printing fake notes".
On Wednesday, Mr Kumar, who manages to keep his cool in most situations, lost his temper at a public rally at "Lalu Zindabad (long live Lalu Yadav) chants.
Lalu Yadav -- the father of Tejashwi Yadav and Mr Kumar's biggest political rival -- is currently in jail after being found guilty in several corruption cases.
Asked about BJP claims that most people at his rallies belong to his party's core support group, Tejashwi Yadav replied, "Going by that logic, they have no crowds and therefore no supporters".
"You ask anyone, this crowd -- this is the source of all energy. This is the result. This is the final result. The JDU and BJP have become un-nerved just by seeing this," he added.
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