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In Delhi, Tejashwi Yadav meets Opposition leaders, attacks BJP
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s decision to realign with the RJD-led Opposition was a “slap on the BJP’s face”, deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said on Friday after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other Opposition leaders in the Capital.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s decision to realign with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Opposition was a “slap on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) face”, deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said on Friday after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other Opposition leaders in the Capital.
Yadav accused the BJP of working to finish regional parties and said if they are finished, the Opposition and democracy will be finished as well.
“This government will run strongly because this government is a government for the poor… it is a government of the people. The decision by Nitish Kumar at the right time, you can say, is a slap on the BJPs face,” Yadav told reporters here.
All Opposition parties have joined hands against the BJP in Bihar assembly and a similar coming together of the Opposition will be replicated across the country, the RJD leader said.
It was for the second time that the JD(U), on Tuesday, broke its alliance with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance to re-align with the opposition — the first was in 2013 when the party exited after 17 years in the NDA.
The first signs of a possible political realignment between the JD(U) and RJD emerged when Nitish earlier this year agreed to hold a caste census in the state that was backed by the RJD, and attended an iftaar party hosted by Yadav on April 22.
Yadav’s outreach to an opposition leader on Sunday is believed to have marked the beginning of a consultation process between key opposition parties of Bihar, HT had reported on August 10.
The deputy chief minister’s visit to the national capital, the first since taking oath on Wednesday, assumes significance as his father and RJD chief, Lalu Prasad Yadav, is also in the city. The duo are expected to discuss the possible names of ministers for the new cabinet, party functionaries said.
The cabinet, which at present comprises only the chief minister and his deputy, is due for expansion early next week.
The RJD leader met Gandhi and is believed to have held discussions with her on the matter, the functionaries said.
Besides Gandhi, Yadav met CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI general secretary D Raja.
Attacking the BJP, Yadav said: “People are suffering due to inflation. There are those who want to rule by creating Hindu-Muslim tensions, put the Constitution and democracy in danger, they want to break the brotherhood. Bihar has once again given a new direction to the country.”
“For that we thank the chief minister, Sonia Gandhi ji, Yechury ji, Dipankar ji (Bhattacharya, CPI-ML general secretary), Raja ji and Lalu (Prasad) ji,” he said.
“Since we have formed the government, issues like employment and those related to youth’s future will be addressed,” he added.
Alleging that the BJP wants to destroy regional parties, he said: “You (BJP) wanted to finish Nitish Kumar, you created a division in Ram Vilas Paswan ji’s (Lok Janshakti Party) party. If regional parties are finished, Opposition will be finished, democracy will be finished. If democracy is finished, the country will be run in a dictatorial manner.”
The BJP claimed the Grand Alliance under Nitish is on a sticky wicket.
“Both (Nitish and Tejashwi) the leaders have sold the soul to form an unethical alliance and people will teach them a lesson in the elections. Bihar has seen this between 2015 and 2017,” BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said.
(With agency inputs)
