The Opposition turned up the heat on the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government in Bihar for making recruitment scam accused Mewalal Choudhary a minister and handing him over the education portfolio.

Mewalal is currently out on interim bail.

RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav raised the issue to attack the government and said: “Chief minister Nitish Kumar has made Mewalal Choudhary, who is an accused in serious cases of corruption in the appointment of assistant professors and construction of building, a minister. Is it a reward for corruption and a free hand to loot?”

Tejashwi, whose RJD with 75 MLAs is the largest party in the 243-seat Assembly, followed it up with sharp comments on the first few days of the government.

“An accused and absconder in various cases of corruption has been made the education minister. Nobody from minority communities has been made a minister. The criminals patronised by the government are making merry. Crime is breaking all records. However, the chief minister will keep preaching on crime, corruption and communalism for the sake of power,” Tejaswhi said.

Mewalal is a member of Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United (JDU) and is an MLA from Tarapur in Munger district.

Attempts to contact Mewalal were not successful.