Tejashwi Yadav demands social security pension be increased to Rs 1,500 ahead of Bihar Budget

Patna (Bihar) [India], March 3 (ANI): A day ahead of the state Budget, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, on Sunday, said that the state provides the lowest social security pension in the country, and demanded an increase in the pension amount from Rs 400 to Rs 1,500 per month, emphasising the need for stronger welfare measures.
"Bihar gets the lowest social security pension in the country. We demand that it be increased from Rs 400 to Rs 1500 in the Budget. According to the National Family Health Survey, 65 per cent of women in Bihar, which is the highest number in the country, are anaemic. As males are migrating, all the burden to run the house is on women. The number of children suffering from stunted growth is the highest in Bihar."
"Their (NDA) government has not paid any attention to this yet. They can copy our 'Mai Behen Maan Yojana' if they want, but they should deposit Rs 2500 in the accounts of mothers and sisters, and we will also make efforts for it," he added.
"People have LPG cylinders but cannot refill them because of inflation, so we will ask the government to increase the subsidy on LPG up to 500. We have awarded five lakh joining letters and have three lakh recruitment underway; but since then, all recruitment processes have stagnated. So, we want Nitish Kumar to fulfil it," added Yadav.
Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary will present the Budget in the state Assembly on Monday. This will be the last Budget before the Assembly polls scheduled in the state later this year.
Earlier, former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD leader Rabri Devi had said that whether Tejashwi Yadav will be the next Chief Minister of the state, is in the hands of the people, not those of leaders.
She also accused the NDA government in the State of doing "crimes". "It (whether Tejashwi Yadav will be the next CM or not) is in the hands of the people, not leaders. They are the ones who are doing every crime," Rabri Devi told reporters.
"We are not afraid. We are ready to go to jail, but we are not running away. We are innocent," she added.
As Bihar gears up for Assembly polls later this year, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on February 26, expanded his Cabinet with seven Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs taking oath as ministers.
Sanjay Saraogi, Sunil Kumar, Jibesh Mishra, Krishna Kumar Mantoo, Motilal Prasad, Vijay Kumar Mandal and Raju Kumar Singh took oath as ministers. Bihar Assembly elections are expected to take place in October-November 2025. (ANI)