Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has set off a fresh political row with a one-line claim about law and order that left even his listeners puzzled. Speaking at an event in New Delhi on Tuesday, he said that apraadh had ceased to exist in Bihar, while allowing that crimes may still happen. “Crime can happen, but apradh cannot,” the Chief Minister said, according to the video circulating online.
The CM spoke at an event on a memorandum of understanding between the Bihar government and the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. He told the gathering in Hindi that the concept of apraadh had ended, that crimes may occur but there is no apraadh, and that there are no apraadhis (criminals). In everyday Hindi, “crime” and “apraadh” mean broadly the same thing, which is why the distinction confused many listeners.
Social media users questioned what difference the chief minister was trying to draw between the English word and its Hindi equivalent. The context suggests he meant to project confidence about his government’s record. The remark appeared intended to underline the government’s position on crime control.
The opposition’s response
The Rashtriya Janata Dal moved quickly. Tejashwi Yadav, leader of the opposition in the state assembly, shared the video on X and turned the remark into an attack on both Choudhary and the Prime Minister. He asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given Choudhary a contract to destroy Bihar. He also reached back into the chief minister’s past. Yadav referred to a case registered against Choudhary in the 1990s over seven murders, which the chief minister says was a false implication. Yadav separately demanded resignation over a molestation case in Jamui.
Not every reaction came from the opposition benches. Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan said that as a Bihari he wanted the state to become crime-free and a fertile destination for investors. The comment was supportive in tone, though it described a goal rather than endorsing the claim that the goal had been met.
What the data says
Crime figures in Bihar have long been contested territory, with each side selecting numbers that suit its argument. An analysis cited by National Herald found that Bihar’s overall crime rate is much lower than several more prosperous states despite its large population, yet it records high numbers of murders and dowry deaths. The same coverage also raised the question of under-reporting, since a low crime rate can reflect how many cases reach a police station as much as how many offences occur. Earlier Bihar governments have made similar comparisons. In 2020, then Chief Minister Nitish Kumar claimed Bihar ranked 23rd among states in crime according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
The political significance goes beyond one awkward sentence. Choudhary is the first BJP leader to head a government in Bihar. Law and order has been the central charge against Bihar governments since the “jungle raj” debates of the 1990s, so any claim that apraadh has ended invites a direct comparison with daily headlines.