I am a master in India

Chapter 361 Poor

The Chief Minister of Bihar is named Phusd Yadav. He was born into an extremely poor family in rural Bihar. During his childhood, he was dressed in rags, had no shoes, and made a living by tending the village's livestock.

This was the job of the Yadav caste, and he later entered Patna University and entered politics.

At the age of 29, he became the youngest member of the Lok Sabha (House of Representatives). In 90, he formed the current Bihar coalition government through deception and fraud.

Like many Indian officials, Yadav was adept at corruption.

Two years ago, he embezzled 3700 million rupees of public funds under the pretext of purchasing medicines and cattle feed.

In the days following Ron and his team's arrival in Patna, the Central Investigation Bureau filed a lawsuit against him regarding this matter.

This is the fourth time Yadav has been charged with the same crime.

In other words, he's a repeat offender who keeps targeting cattle feed to make money, and he doesn't even bother to pretend.

Despite his blatant methods of embezzlement, Yadav was always caught with irrefutable evidence, yet he refused to admit it.

In Bihar, nobody cares about the law; he remains the Chief Minister.

Not only him, but also his wife and five of his nine children are prominent members of parliament from the Socialist Party.

That's just how outrageous it is; when it comes to politics, the whole family has to get involved.

Ron and Satya met Yadav and his wife in a garden, where the familiar scent of hemp filled the air.

The Bihar Socialist Party flag hangs on the courtyard wall, along with a pair of giant hands smashing handcuffs.

It symbolizes the Socialists, who mercifully broke the chains for the poor.

The two sat down, and a servant brought them lemon tea and Bihar sweets.

Ron had barely finished introducing his surname when Yadav impatiently interrupted him.

"You said your surname is Su'er?"

"Yes."

“This is a good surname. Surya’s greatest contribution was protecting the birth of life. Of course, I think Krishna, represented by Yadav, is even greater.”

"Krishna?"

“Yes, all Yadav are descendants of Krishna. We are cowherds, just like Krishna in the epic.” Yadav said enthusiastically.

Ron's expression was a little strange. He couldn't understand whether all Yadav had this obsession.

Satya's brother was the same; he wanted to tell everyone that Yadav was a descendant of Krishna.

Biharyadav, completely ignoring Ron's expression, continued his incessant chatter.

In short, according to his view, the genetic makeup of the Yadav should be as pure as that of the Brahmins, or even purer.

The reason Yadav has fallen to this state is that historical injustice and deception have denied them their rightful place in the upper class; they should belong to the upper caste, not the corrupted caste.

Who caused this situation? Of course, it was the cunning Brahmins.

Yes, it's someone like Ron sitting in front of him.

Is it really necessary? I just introduced myself, and you're already giving me all this rambling.

Ron tried to change the subject, but Yadav started boasting about his various achievements since taking power in Bihar.

"Our two greatest achievements are social equity and common harmony," he said.

“Great.” Ron nodded perfunctorily.

“We have given courage to the oppressed people, and the Dalits can now hold their heads high. They are no longer oppressed by Brahmins and landlords, and the herders are safe. We have defeated the Indian extreme nationalists.”

Most Brahmins don't even have access to Darit. "You idiot," Ron thought to himself.

Even the poor Brahmins living in the countryside of Bihar would never have Dalits around their villages.

Yadav's boasts of these achievements are strikingly similar to the election promises made by Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh.

They don't talk about good governance or development at all; all they say are empty words like fairness and harmony.

Ron had no interest in discussing these political topics with Yadav; he had heard enough of them during the Uttar Pradesh elections.

He then glanced at Satya discreetly, who immediately picked up the conversation.

“Mr. Minister, we are here today to discuss the mining development in Bihar, which is beneficial to the local industrial development.”

“Oh, is that so? Bihar needs industry.” He suddenly became excited and sat up straight.

A servant promptly brought over a pipe, and Yadav took a long drag, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

"Tell me, which mine have you set your sights on?"

"Danbad".

"That's a great place, India's coal capital. The National Coal Corporation and the Steel Authority of India have made significant investments there."

“I know there are still some mines that are undeveloped, but I only do business in cement and coal.”

Before the formation of Jharkhand, Bihar was a large state. The industrial city of Dhambad is still part of it.

Located in eastern Bihar, it is extremely rich in mineral resources. Its most famous resource is coal, which is not only abundant but also of excellent quality.

Tata and Indian Steel have both established steel plants here, and coal resources are utilized locally.

Of course, in addition to coal, Danbad also has other minerals such as limestone, bauxite, rare earth, and copper.

Ron didn't expect to win over those large, high-quality coal mines from giants like Coal India, Indian Steel, and Tata Steel.

He set his sights on the surrounding secondary coal mines, as well as the Su family's old business—the cement plant.

Even if he couldn't eat meat, he could at least have some soup, Ron knew he had to be fast.

As licensing regulations in the energy and mining industries are gradually relaxed, more and more people will be eyeing this sector.

It's not too late to seek mineral development in Danbad now. Although the big companies have taken the most lucrative piece of the pie, the remaining mines can easily outperform the coal mines in Songbadra.

Ron's requirements weren't high; he just wanted to acquire a medium-sized coalfield. That would give him two coal-producing sites, enough to support the next phase of expansion for the Suer power plant.

“There are indeed many unused coal mines in Danba. Are you planning to build a steel plant here?” Yadav asked.

“No, to be precise, it’s a coal business.” “Ha!” Yadav laughed. “Let me guess, you’ve got your eye on the coal here, but you don’t plan to invest?”

"I know that due to policy reasons, coal cannot be moved away."

“No, no, Mr. Sur.” Yadav waved his hand with a smile. “I think you’ve misunderstood. In Biharbi, all policies are negotiable.”

"You mean"

"Yes, you can ship the coal from Danbad anywhere you want, the key question is what price you're willing to pay?"

Coal can only be used for local development? Hmph, what a rumor!

In Bihar, the law has no place whatsoever, and federal policies mean nothing.

Yes, Indian Steel and Tata Steel have indeed built steel plants in Dhanbad, directly consuming coal resources on-site.

But this is a large company, watched by countless people, so of course they obediently follow the policy regulations.

Also in Danbad, outside these large factories, in the sparsely populated wilderness, coal mined from countless small mines is continuously being sent to other countries.

Their ability to disregard policy restrictions and rake in huge profits from coal sales is all thanks to Yadav.

As long as the rupees are in place, all regulators in Bihar will choose to be selectively blind.

Ron had anticipated the chaos in Bihar, but he never imagined they would be so audacious and their methods so barbaric that they were truly astonishing.

"I want to haul away 10,000 tons of coal every month."

“80 rupees,” Yadav immediately quoted.

"what?"

"Brother, this is standard practice. You get paid once you haul coal, and we're even. Of course, I have no objection if you pay for the whole year upfront."

Ron quickly calculated 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 to the sale of this batch of coal and taking a 10% cut.

"Won't there be other problems if we continue mining for a long time?"

"The government will handle the permits, and the coal transported will be properly recorded. What do you think about listing it as steel mill consumption?"

"No, all the coal was used in cement plants."

"A cement plant?"

"Yes, this is another business deal I'd like to discuss with you."

"Tell me more about it," Yadav said, becoming increasingly interested.

The more business he does, the more money he earns.

“I’m going to build a cement plant in Danbad, which requires a lot of coal. That’s perfectly in line with policy, isn’t it?”

"Oh, so you want to put all the transported coal on the cement plant's books?"

"Yes."

"Then you'll need a lot of coal."

"That's why I came to Danbad."

"Let me think about it." Yadav's shrewd eyes flashed quickly.

He felt that just collecting money from coal transportation wasn't worthwhile; this was a big business opportunity.

"In addition to what I just mentioned, your cement plant will also have to pay the same price for the coal it uses."

"no problem."

“There is also a kickback of 200 million rupees per year.”

“Mr. Chief Minister, my cement plant hasn’t even been built yet.”

"Okay, then pay taxes according to the state's laws. That's my last condition."

“I have no objection.” Ron nodded.

Yadav is the Chief Minister, and a significant portion of the taxes collected in Bihar ultimately ends up in his pocket.

He had already thought of a reason: to buy feed for the cattle. It was a simple and easy-to-remember excuse.

"Alright, you can go to Danbad now and choose your favorite mine. If it's not enough, you can pick a couple more to make up the difference."

“I will go.” Ron stood up to take his leave.

Overall, the meeting with Yadav went relatively smoothly, and they have almost finalized the business deal.

Ron was a little surprised, however, that Yadav's asking price wasn't too high, not the exorbitant amount he had imagined.

The commission rate for coal is in line with market rates, while the cement plant's commission of 200 million rupees is indeed much lower.

Little did he know, Yadav had already made an outrageous demand.

Bihar had no industry before, nor had any big merchants given him money, so Yadav was unaware of the market situation.

In the end, he could only determine how much kickback he should charge the cement plant based on the money the small coal mine owners gave him.

There are many wild mines like Danbad, and most of the small bosses give Yadav bribes of one or two million rupees.

So he directly set the maximum "high price" and was quite pleased with himself for it.

Alas, Bihar is still too poor.

Even when it comes to bribery, they seem completely unsophisticated.

He should go to Uttar Pradesh and see; Ron spends tens of millions of rupees every time he makes a move.

Satya, standing to the side, also had a strange expression. During last year's election, Mr. Sur had easily given him 400 million rupees.

Looking at Yadav's excited and smug eyes, Satya suddenly felt a little sorry for him.

(End of this chapter)