Patna, Jun 12 (PTI) RJD national working president Tejashwi Yadav on Friday said "NDA's bankrupt politics and leadership have brought Bihar to the brink of bankruptcy," citing the withdrawal of Rs 3,662 crore from the state’s contingency fund for pension payments.

The state cabinet on Tuesday approved the withdrawal of Rs 3,662 crore from the Bihar Contingency Fund to disburse social security pensions for May, June and July.

"Due to the NDA government’s bankrupt politics and leadership, Bihar is witnessing a deterioration in its financial condition, marked by declining revenue, a rising fiscal deficit, mounting debt and heavy interest payments. The state is facing a severe financial strain as the treasury is running dry," Yadav said in a post on X in Hindi.

The former deputy chief minister alleged that under the leadership of an "inexperienced chief minister", the government’s budgetary management had become so poor that it had to draw funds from the contingency fund for routine expenditures such as monthly pension payments.

He said the state government, instead of "accepting the reality," is issuing "misleading press releases citing budgetary management, and engaging in childish evasions".

Questioning the use of the contingency fund, Yadav said constitutional and legal provisions stipulate that money withdrawn from the fund should be used only for unforeseen or emergent situations.

"According to constitutional and legal provisions, the expenditure of amounts withdrawn from the contingency fund must be for a problem of an unforeseen nature or emergent character. Is a pension some kind of unforeseen expense?" he asked.

Describing the state’s economic condition as "pitiable", the RJD leader said if the government had to rely on the contingency fund even for regular expenses, it raised concerns about the availability of funds for development projects and other welfare programmes.

Yadav also referred to the Bihar Contingency Fund (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, brought by the state government in September last year, which allows the temporary enhancement of the fund’s size up to 10 per cent of a financial year’s total expenditure budget.

He said that in FY 25-26, the fiscal deficit has touched an "alarming" 11.8 per cent.

"Under the FRBM Act, the fiscal deficit should not exceed 3 per cent, but the state government's fiscal deficit is turning out to be 3-5 times the ideal target,” Yadav said. PTI SUK MNB

Contingency fund use for routine pension payments raises questions over unforeseen expenditure limits and fiscal management. Withdrawal from the Bihar Contingency Fund for pension payments was criticised on the ground that contingency money is meant only for unforeseen or emergent expenditure. The state's fiscal condition was described as strained, and the Bihar Contingency Fund (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 was cited as allowing temporary enhancement of the fund up to 10 per cent of the annual expenditure budget.