RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s son and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said on Monday he will not tolerate corruption, inviting another wave of social media jokes since his oath-taking last week.
After assuming charge of the crucial road construction department, Tejaswi said there was a need to strengthen infrastructure of the state, including roads. “Corruption will not be tolerated,” he added.
Users began posting tongue-in-cheek remarks alluding to Lalu Prasad’s conviction in the fodder scam shortly after Tejashwi’s remarks.
“My priority would be to further enhance road connectivity in the state by linking every village. Roads were built at a great speed during the previous tenure of chief minister Nitish Kumar. My priority would be to further accelerate the pace,” Tejashwi said.
{{/usCountry}}“My priority would be to further enhance road connectivity in the state by linking every village. Roads were built at a great speed during the previous tenure of chief minister Nitish Kumar. My priority would be to further accelerate the pace,” Tejashwi said.
{{/usCountry}}A court had sentenced Prasad to five years in jail in 2013 for siphoning off state funds. He was convicted for his part in the 1990s animal fodder racket in Bihar in which crores of rupees went missing. The former Bihar CM was granted bail by the Supreme Court later that year.
Prasad’s sons, Tejashwi and Tej Pratap Yadav, took oath as ministers of Bihar as Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the chief minister of the state for the fifth time at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on November 20.
The appointment of debutante Tejashwi, Lalu’s younger son, as the deputy CM instead of more experienced leaders of the RJD has triggered a barrage of criticism, especially on social media.
Tejashwi took on his detractors on Sunday, asking them “not to judge a book by its cover” and vowed to increase the value of ‘Brand Bihar’ so that Kumar feels “proud” of him.
Read: Tejashwi hits back at critics, says may be inexperienced, not unaware
With PTI inputs