Chapter 361: Poor
The Chief Minister of Bihar is Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Yadav. He was born into a very poor family in rural Bihar. He spent his childhood in rags, without shoes, and made a living by taking care of the village herds.
This was exactly the job of the Yadav caste. Later, he was admitted to Patna University and entered politics.
He became the youngest Lok Sabha member at the age of 29, and in 1990, he formed the current coalition government in Bihar by cheating and deceiving people.
Like many Indian officials, Yadav is also a master at corruption.
In the previous two years, he had embezzled Rs 37 million of public funds under the pretext of purchasing medicines and cattle feed.
Just a few days after Ron and his team arrived in Patna, the Central Yang Investigation Bureau filed a lawsuit against him in this matter.
This is the fourth time Yadav has been charged with the same offence.
In other words, he was a habitual criminal who kept targeting cattle feed to get money, without even putting on an act.
Such crude means of corruption were always caught with irrefutable evidence, but Yadav refused to admit it.
In Bihar, no one cares about the law and he is still the chief minister.
Not only himself, but also his wife and five of his nine children are prominent politicians of the Socialist Party.
It’s just so outrageous, when it comes to politics, of course the whole family is involved.
Ron and Satya met Yadav and his wife in a garden. There was a familiar smell of hemp in the air.
On the courtyard wall hung the flag of the Bihar Socialist Party and a pair of giant hands smashing handcuffs.
It symbolizes the socialists who mercifully broke the chains of the poor.
The two sat down and a servant brought lemon tea and Bihari sweets.
As soon as Ron introduced his last name, Yadav couldn't wait to interrupt him.
"You said your last name was Sue?"
"yes."
"This surname is good. Surya's greatest contribution is to protect the birth of life. Of course, I think Lord Krishna, represented by Yadav, is even greater."
"Lord Krishna?"
"Yes, all Yadavs are descendants of Lord Krishna. We are cowherds, just like Lord Krishna in the epic." Yadav was excited.
Ron's expression was a little strange. He couldn't understand whether all Yadavs had this obsession.
Satya's brother also wanted to tell everyone that Yadav was a descendant of Lord Krishna.
Bihar Yadav in front of him didn't care about Ron's expression at all and continued chattering.
In short, according to his view, the genes of Yadavs should be as pure as those of Brahmins, or purer than theirs.
The Yadavs have ended up in this situation today because of historical injustice and scams that denied them their rightful place in the upper caste, where they should belong and not to a polluted caste.
Who created this situation today? Of course, it was the scheming Brahmins.
Well, someone like Ron who was sitting in front of him.
As for that, I was just introducing myself, and you are talking so much to me.
Ron wanted to change the subject, but Yadav began to brag about his various political achievements since he came to power in Bihar.
"Our two greatest achievements are social equity and communal harmony," he said.
"Great." Ron nodded perfunctorily.
"We have given courage to the oppressed. The Dalits can now hold their heads high. They are no longer oppressed by the Brahmins and landlords. The herders are also safe. We have defeated the Hindu ultra-nationalists."
Most Brahmins have no contact with Dalits. You idiot, Ron thought to himself.
Even among the poor Brahmins living in rural Bihar, there are absolutely no Dalits around their villages.
The political achievements that Yadav boasted about are similar to the election promises made by Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh.
They don’t talk about good governance or development at all, and all they say are empty words like fairness and harmony.
Ron was not interested in discussing these political topics with Yadav. He had heard enough of them during the Uttar Pradesh election.
So he glanced at Satya obliquely, and the latter immediately took over the conversation.
"Mr. Minister, we are here today to discuss the development of mineral resources in Bihar, which will benefit the local industry."
"Oh, that's right. Bihar needs industry." He suddenly became excited and sat up straight.
The servant beside him brought the pipe in time. Yadav took a long puff, and an inexplicable light flashed in his eyes.
"Tell me, which mine have you set your sights on?"
"Dhanbad."
"It's a great place, the coal capital of India. The National Coal Corporation and the Steel Authority of India have both made significant investments there."
"I know there are still some undeveloped mines. I only deal in cement and coal."
Before the formation of Jharkhand, Bihar was a large state, and the industrial city of Dhanbad has not yet been included in it.
Located in the eastern part of Bihar, it is rich in mineral resources, the most famous of which is coal, which is not only abundant in reserves but also of high quality.
Tata and Indian Steel Corporation have both built steel plants here, and coal resources are utilized locally.
Of course, in addition to coal, Dhanbad also has other minerals such as limestone, bauxite, rare earth, copper, etc.
Ron didn't expect to be able to compete with giants such as Coal India, Indian Steel and Tata Steel for those large reserves of high-quality coal mines.
He was interested in the surrounding second-tier coal mines and the Suer family's main business - the cement factory.
If I can't eat the meat, I can always drink some soup. Ron knew he had to hurry.
As the licensing system for the energy and mining industries gradually relaxes, more and more people will be eyeing this line of work.
It is not too late to come to Dhanbad to seek mineral development. Although the big companies have taken the fattest piece of meat, the remaining ones can easily kill the coal mines in Songbadra.
Ron's requirements were not high; he just wanted to acquire a medium-sized coal field. This would give him two coal fields, enough to support the further expansion of the Sur Power Plant.
"There are indeed many idle coal mines in Danba. Are you planning to build a steel plant here?" Yadav asked.
"No, it's the coal business to be exact."
"Ha!" Yadav laughed. "Let me guess. You're interested in the coal here, but you don't plan to invest here?"
“I know that coal cannot be avoided due to policy reasons.”
"No, no, Mr. Sur." Yadav smiled and waved his hand. "I think you misunderstood. In Bihar, all policies are negotiable."
"You mean"
"Yes, you can transport Dhanbad's coal anywhere. The key is what price are you willing to pay?"
Coal can only be used for local development? Hum, rumor!
In Bihar, laws have no presence at all, let alone federal policies.
Yes, both Indian Steel Corporation and Tata Steel Corporation have built steel plants in Dhanbad, directly consuming coal resources on site.
But this is a big company, with countless people watching them, so of course they will follow the policy regulations honestly.
Also in Dhanbad, outside these large factories, in the sparsely populated wilderness, coal dug out from countless small coal mines is continuously shipped to foreign countries.
They were able to ignore policy restrictions and make huge profits from selling coal, all thanks to this Yadav.
As long as the rupees are in place, all regulators in Bihar will choose to be blind.
Ron had anticipated the chaos in Bihar, but he didn't expect them to be so bold and their methods so brutal that it would make you gasp in amazement.
"I want to take away 10,000 tons of coal every month."
"800,000 rupees." Yadav immediately made an offer.
"What?"
"Hey, buddy, this is the way it's done. You haul coal once, you pay once, and we're even. Of course, I have no objection if you pay for the entire year all at once."
Ron did a quick calculation and found that based on the market price of 800-1000 rupees per ton of coal, this was exactly 10% of the value of 10,000 tons of coal.
This is equivalent to Yadav tacitly agreeing that the coal was sold and taking a one-tenth commission.
"If we mine for a long time, there won't be any other problems, right?"
"The state government will take care of the permits, and the coal removed will be properly recorded. What do you think about recording it as consumed by the steel plant?"
"No, the coal is used in the cement factory."
"Cement factory?"
"Yes, this is the other business I want to discuss with you."
"Tell me in detail." Yadav became more and more interested.
The more business he gets, the more money he will collect.
"I will build a cement plant in Dhanbad, which will require a lot of coal. That fits perfectly with the policy, doesn't it?"
"Oh, you want to put all the coal you transported into the cement factory's account?"
"yes."
"You'll need a lot of coal then."
“That’s why I came to Dhanbad.”
"Let me think about it." Yadav's shrewd eyes flashed quickly.
He felt that it was not cost-effective to just collect the money for transporting coal, as this was a big business.
"In addition to what I just said, your cement plant also has to pay this price for the coal it uses."
"no problem."
"And there's a 2 million rupee benefit fee every year."
“Mr Chief Minister, my cement factory has not even been built.”
"Alright, then pay taxes according to state law. That's my last condition."
"That's fine with me." Ron nodded.
Yadav is the Chief Minister, and a considerable portion of the taxes collected by Bihar probably ends up in his pocket.
He had already thought of the reason: buying feed for the cattle. This reason was simple and easy to remember.
"Okay, now you can go to Dhanbad and pick out the mine you like. If it's not enough, you can pick two more and put them together."
"I'll be there," Ron said, standing up to say goodbye.
Overall, the meeting with Yadav went smoothly and they had almost finished the business talks.
But Ron was a little surprised. Yadav's offer was not too high, not as exorbitant as he had imagined.
The commission on coal is in line with the market, and the cement plant only charges 2 million rupees, which is indeed much lower.
Little did he know that Yadav had already made an exorbitant request.
Bihar had no industry before this, and no big businessmen had given him money, so Yadav didn't know the market conditions.
In the end, he could only decide how much kickbacks to charge the cement factory based on the money given by the owners of the small coal mines.
There are many wild mines like this one in Dhanbad, and most of the small bosses give Yadav bribes of more than one to two million rupees.
So he directly quoted the highest "high price" and was complacent about it.
Alas, Bihar is still too poor.
Even bribery seems unheard of.
He should go to Uttar Pradesh and see that Ron spends tens of millions of rupees every time.
Satya standing by also had a strange look on his face. During last year's election, Mr. Sur had easily thrown him 4 million rupees.
Looking at Yadav's excited and complacent look, Satya suddenly felt a little sorry for him.
(End of this chapter)
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