Samrat Choudhary's 'There's Crime But No Apraadh In Bihar' Remark Draws Jibes

Like the famous thought experiment Schrodinger's cat that explores whether an object can exist in multiple contradictory states or possibilities at the same exact time, Bihar's Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has made a profound comment on the crime statistics in his state.

In response, Opposition leaders including RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and the Congress's Pawan Khera have given their perspective on the matter with posts on X that also took a swipe at the Bihar chief minister.

At an event in Delhi organised by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), Choudhary said in Hindi, "Hamare yahan koi apraadh nahi hai. Apraadh ka concept hi khatam ho chuka hai. Crime ho sakte hain, lekin apraadh nahi, koi apraadhi nahi hai (there is no crime here in Bihar. The very concept of crime has been eliminated. There may be a crime, but there is no apraadh. There are no criminals."

No one has been able to understand what he meant by that, Opposition leaders have said while poking at the chief minister over his remarks.

Yadav, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar assembly, shared a video of the speech made by the chief minister of the BJP-ruled state and asked bureaucrats who attended the event whether they felt "honoured" or "humiliated" in working with such leaders.

In his criticism of the chief minister, Yadav also launched a side attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking whether the prime minister had "taken a contract to let" Choudhary ruin Bihar.

Khera was more forgiving. He shared a line that closely resembled the core essence of what the chief minister had said but in an entirely different matter.

"Poverty ho sakti hai lekin gareebi nahi hai (there could be poverty but not gareebi," the Congress leader said in a post on X.

In his post, Yadav pointed at allegations about Choudhary's criminal records including what he claimed were cases linked to seven murders.

Choudhary began his political career with the RJD. He has maintained that he was falsely implicated in the case filed in the 1990s in his home district, Munger.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) spokesperson Ejaz Ahmed said "apradh" was simply the Hindi word for crime, and so Choudhary should have spoken with officials before making such a statement if he was unsure about its meaning.

He said the remarks reflected a lack of basic understanding among those occupying positions of power in Bihar.