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'We're tikaau, not bikaau': In Delhi, Tejashwi says Bihar has shown the way
Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar new deputy chief minister, said the new Mahagathbandhan government will work with strength, adding barring the BJP, all other political parties in the state are on the same page.
Bihar's newly sworn-in deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and some other Opposition leaders in the national capital on Friday and reportedly discussed prevailing political situation in the country and the recent developments in his state.
Yadav, who came to Delhi two days after taking oath as the deputy CM along with Janata Dal United's (JD-U) Nitish Kumar as the chief minister, shared a tweet in Hindi soon after that loosely read, "Bihar, the land which gave birth to democracy, has again shown the way to the country."
Speaking to reporters later, he said, “After all the developments in Bihar, I came to Delhi last night. I met the primary leadership in Delhi – Sitaram Yechury, D Raja and Sonia Gandhi. Everyone congratulated us, welcomed Nitish Kumar's government.”
He said the new government will work with strength, adding barring the BJP, all other political parties in Bihar are on the same page. “It's public's government. Nitishji's decision is a timely slap to the BJP. Except for the BJP, all political parties are one in the Bihar Assembly. This will be now seen across country. People are tired of unemployment, inflation and religious clashes,” he said.
Speaking about the alleged “misuse” of central agencies like the CBI and ED, Yadav said, “We saw all the drama by the BJP that went happened in Maharashtra, MP and Jharkhand. Scare those who fear, buy those who will sell. Who are they trying to scare? Biharis won't be scared. We're 'tikaau' (a lasting one) and not 'bikaau' (sellouts)... Our constitutional institutions – CBI, ED, IT – are being ruined one by one. Their condition is worse than a police station.”
He further said that while he blamed Nitish Kumar and same happened from the other end, all of them come with the same home with socialist beliefs. “Fights happen in every household, but we welcome Nitishji's decision looking at the country's situation.”
Yadav's visit to the national capital holds further significance as RJD supremo Lalu Prasad is here and names of probable ministers are likely to be on agenda during discussions between the two.
The cabinet at present comprises only Kumar and Yadav and is set to expanded early next week.
Earlier, he celebrated Rakshabandhan with his sisters in Delhi.
Yadav is likely to be back in Bihar soon for the cabinet expansion expected immediately after Independence Day.
The expansion would be followed, later this month, by a special session of the assembly when the new government will prove its majority on the floor.
The RJD leader had served as deputy chief minister of Bihar from 2015 to 2017.
Kumar and Yadav took oath on Wednesday, a day after the JD(U) snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA and joined hands with the RJD, the Congress and some other parties to form a ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government.
(With inputs from agencies)
