'Modi asked me…,' Tejashwi counters PM's attack on father Lalu Yadav

Patna: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and RJD leaders Tejashwi Yadav and Misa Bharti during ‘Jan Vishwas Rally’, in Patna, Sunday, March 3, 2024.

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his dig on Lalu Prasad, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Tejashwi Yadav said BJP leaders “are liars and deceive everyone”.

Addressing the ‘Jan Vishwas Rally’ at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, Tejashwi said, “BJP’s people are such liars that they can serve ‘gobar’ by deceiving everyone and saying it is a ‘gajar ka hawal’. They are all liars.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a direct assault on the Congress-RJD alliance in Bihar on Saturday. He said that the opposition coalition had exploited its social justice image for marginalised sections as a “shield to justify” corruption and dynastic politics.

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“Yesterday, PM Modi came and talked about my father. He (PM Modi) asked me indirectly: Why don’t I highlight the work done by my father (Lalu Prasad Yadav)? Lalu Prasad did his historic work and gave a profit of ₹90,000 crore to Indian Railways when UPA was in power,” Yadav countered.

Without naming RJD president Lalu Prasad, who was the railway minister in the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, PM Modi said, “The people of Bihar know how resources belonging to the railways were looted, how job aspirants were made to part with their land”.

The reference was made to the land-for-jobs scam currently under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate. In this case, individuals including Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Yadav, and daughter Misa Bharti have been implicated.

“They call us nepotism but they have Samrat Choudhary, brother of Ram Vilas Paswan, Manjhi ji’s son has been made minister, it doesn’t look like any nepotism to them. Due to the U-turn taken by Nitish Kumar, it seems that the state government should get its insurance done. They say Modi ki Guarantee, but who will take the guarantee of Nitish Kumar,” he said a day after PM Modi accused Congress-RJD of nepotism.

INDIA bloc’s mega rally in Patna

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge arrived in the Bihar capital on Sunday to participate in the ‘Jan Vishwas Rally.’ This event, organised by the RJD, is viewed as a significant display of strength for the opposition INDIA bloc in anticipation of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Notable leaders present include RJD’s national president Lalu Prasad, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D Raja, and Samajwadi party president Akhilesh Yadav.

The rally marks the conclusion of the ‘Jan Vishwas Yatra,’ a statewide campaign led by Tejashwi Yadav to engage the public ahead of Lok Sabha polls.

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