Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary sparks political row by claiming state has crimes but no apraadh

Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has drawn heavy ridicule and sparked a political row by claiming that there is no 'apraadh' in the state, even though there may be crimes. Speaking at an event in Delhi organised by the state-owned National Highways Authority of India, Choudhary stated that the concept of crime has been eliminated, adding that there are no criminals.

Reaction

RJD working president and leader of the opposition Tejashwi Yadav hit out at the chief minister over the remarks. Yadav questioned on social media whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished to ruin Bihar under Choudhary's leadership. The opposition leader also shared a video of the remark and wondered whether bureaucrats sitting on the stage felt honored or humiliated working with a chief minister once named in a 1990s murder case in Munger, a charge Choudhary has maintained was a false implication. Meanwhile, Union minister Chirag Paswan, whose party belongs to the NDA alliance, refused to comment directly on the remarks but praised Choudhary for having a clear vision on crime control, stating that as home minister and chief minister he must have facts and figures to back his claim.

Context

Samrat Choudhary took over as the state's first BJP chief minister in April of this year after long-serving leader Nitish Kumar stepped down to become a Rajya Sabha MP. Public debates over law and order remain a central feature of political discourse in Bihar, where rival parties frequently clash over crime statistics and governance records. Leaders often face intense scrutiny from opposition figures over their past legal histories and public statements.