Patna: It was Tejashwi Yadav versus Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday as the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly rattled off the scams that have hit the Nitish Kumar government and the deputy chief minister retorted by asking Tejashwi to explain how he became owner of properties worth over Rs 1,000 crore.

"I was deputy CM for 20 months and held three important portfolios," an angry Tejashwi replied. "Tell me one incident where I did a scam. The CBI has not even charge-sheeted me and what you are trying is to project nami (legit) property as benami (illegal)."

Modi retaliated: "Had you replied to the queries asked by the CBI you would have remained the deputy CM. Don't worry, the CBI is going to file the charge-sheet soon."

The CBI FIR against Tejashwi - over the transfer of railway hotels to a private party on lease when RJD chief Lalu Prasad was Union railway minister - brought down the JDU-RJD Congress Grand Alliance

The sparring match was sparked by a question from RJD MLA Kumar Sarvjeet, replying to which education minister Krishna Nandan Verma conceded irregularities in construction of primary schools. The RJD MLA said that despite several letters sent to the education department's principal secretary, nothing had been done about a school building in Bodhgaya.

"Rs 26 lakh was withdrawn by the principal and secretary of the school without the school building being built," the minister replied.

There was uproar in the House at the reply, as both ruling and Opposition MLAs complained about irregularities in building schools in their constituencies. RJD MLAs demanded a probe by a House committee. The Speaker ordered all MLAs to provide information to the education minister for probe.

At this point, Tejashwi listed the scams, repeating charges he had hurled on Monday.

"This government has lost control over its treasury," he said. "We can talk about development only when the treasury is safe. But during the last four months there has been the Srijan scam, toilet scam, student merit scam, food grain procurement scam. It almost seems scams are on sales and those committing one scam are free to do three more. Nitish Kumar has become the Bhism pitamah of scams. People screen newspapers every day to new scams."

Road construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav quipped that the Assembly was a place to ask questions and not deliver speeches. Then Modi raised the case against Tejashwi.