RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav pointed to a series of taunts at Bihar’s chief minister Nitish Kumar during an election rally in the Nawada state district today, criticizing the JDU chief for staying home for more than four months due to to the Covid threat and just come out of the closet. ask for votes.
Kumar had faced widespread criticism for his decision to stay indoors and avoid public interaction during the current health crisis. In early June, after spending more than 80 days inside, he finally left to drive 20 meters to the official secretariat, which is next door.
“Nitish Kumar stayed inside CM’s house for 144 days. But now he’s outside his house. Why? Tab bhi crown tha, ab bhi crown hai. But now he wants your vote, so he has to step up, “said Yadav, who is challenging Kumar’s re-election bid in Assembly polls that begin next week.
In June, when Kumar made his appearance, Yadav mocked him in a tweet and said “if you are afraid (of going out), I will accompany you.”
In today’s speech, Yadav also criticized Nitish Kumar for his handling of the migrant crisis: More than 32 lakh people returned to Bihar after the national blockade put them out of work. The state promised jobs and conducted a “skills mapping” program, but many are still out of work.
The RJD leader, who hopes to prevent Nitish Kumar from winning a fourth term as prime minister, has brought unemployment back in the state – 46.6 percent, he says – as a major polling platform.
“Nitish Kumar gave you a job in 15 years … eradicated poverty? What happened to the jobs promised to the government? What happened to the factories?” Yadav asked today, “welcoming” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is speaking in support of Nitish Kumar, to Bihar.
“I welcome ModiHee to Bihar, now tell us what happened to the Bihar package, ”he asked, referring to financial aid to a state that has been affected by floods and Covid in the space of a few months.
Yadav also referred to the “dual engine”, a development model promoted by the BJP, in which the same party is in power in the center and the state, and asked if it had helped Bihar progress.
Nitish Kumar’s JDU and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP have ruled Bihar since 2017. Earlier, BJP President JP Nadda at another rally said “Modi hain a mumkin hain aur Nitish hain a sambhav hai (Modi, Nitish make it possible) “- a riff from the 2019 BJP catchphrase hailing PM Modi.
Unemployment has become a major problem in Bihar before the elections, particularly after Yadav’s promise of 10 lakh of government jobs, prompting a series of irritable responses from Nitish Kumar.
Earlier this week, the Chief Minister hit Yadav, asking if he would accept money from jail, a reference to his father and former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is in prison for a corruption scam, to pay for the salaries of new employees.
Yadav’s insistence that he will provide 10 lakh of jobs has also caused the BJP to respond in kind; on Thursday, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman promised 19 lakh of jobs for Bihar.
The BJP also offered “free coronavirus vaccines,” a promise that sparked an immediate backlash from opposition parties, including Congress, which has sided with Yadav’s RJD for these elections.
Bihar votes for a new government in three phases starting on October 28, and the results will be delivered on November 10. Yadav’s RJD has allied with Congress and left-wing parties, while the BJP backs the JDU.
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