'How will she understand things like Budget?': Lalan Singh's scathing attack on Rabri Devi 

Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh on Tuesday targeted former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi after she said that Rs 26,000 crore support allocated to the state was a "jhunjjuna". "How will she understand things like Budget?" the JDU leader said when asked to comment on Rabri's jhunjhuna comment. 

"We had demanded special status or special package for Bihar. Today's Budget has an abundance of package for Bihar," Laln Singh said while speaking to reporters. "Whatever sector you look at - be it strengthening infrastructure or developing tourism or irrigation - there is abundance of schemes in every sector. After the implementation of these schemes, Bihar's growth rate will go up." 

Earlier in the day, during an interview with ANI, Rabri Devi said farmers' fertilisers and seeds should be made cheaper, and inflation should be stopped. She also said that the costs of petrol and diesel are high and farmers don't even get electricity.

"Murders and thefts are happening in the state. Labourers are not getting their wages. Youth are not getting employment and farmer issues persist... Rs 26,000 crore allotted to Bihar is a 'jhunjhuna'," she said. 

The Janata Dal (United), a key ally in the NDA, welcomed a host of Bihar-specific announcements in the Union Budget, saying these development measures will be a big step in making the state "aatmanirbhar". JDU spokesperson K C Tyagi lauded what he said was "special financial assistance" for Bihar by way of budgetary allocations of over Rs 26,000 crore for highways and Rs 11,500 crore for steps to mitigate floods. Two new bridges over the Ganga river have been announced besides a new airport and medical college in the state, he said. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced steps for developing Nalanda University and developing tourist spots, including the Nalanda-Rajgir corridor, Tyagi noted. Gaya will be the headquarters for the Kolkata-Amritsar corridor, he added. Three new expressways have been given to Bihar as well. The budget has also stressed developing sports infrastructure in the state and expediting the Bihar government's request for loans from multi-lateral institutions, he added.