‘Empty claims’: Chirag Paswan refutes Jan Suraj's ₹14,000 crore ‘World Bank funds diverted’ claim | India News
Image Source: Internet
**Rephrased Title:** "Bihar Elections: Chirag Paswan Slams Jan Suraaj's ₹14,000 Cr 'Diverted Funds' Claim | India News" **Rephrased Article:** Union Minister Chirag Paswan has dismissed claims made by Jan Suraaj's spokesperson Pavan Varma that the central government diverted funds from the World Bank to influence the recent Bihar Assembly elections. Paswan questioned the source of Varma's information and labeled the claims as baseless. Jan Suraaj, led by Prashant Kishor, had made a contentious claim that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) diverted funds meant for a different project from the World Bank and used them to distribute money among women voters. In an interview, Varma alleged that the Centre withdrew ₹14,000 crores just before the model code of conduct was implemented and allocated ₹10,000 each to 1.25 crore women under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana. Bihar's public debt currently stands at ₹4,06,000 crores, with an interest of ₹63 crores per day. Varma claimed that the move was not only questionable but also raised ethical concerns, especially with rumors circulating that the remaining amount would not be released if the NDA was not voted into power. Paswan, however, has refuted the claims, saying, "Where do they get this data from, this information from?... Making empty claims - if you have any facts, present it and the Govt will respond."
