Bihar: Tejashwi launches 'Jan Vishwas Yatra', trains guns at Nitish, BJP

Bihar: Tejashwi launches ‘Jan Vishwas Yatra’, trains guns at Nitish, BJP

Patna, Feb 20 (PTI) RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday trained his guns at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accusing his former boss of ruling the state “without any vision” and “switching alliance partners without any reason”.

Yadav, also coined a new acronym ‘BAAP’, saying it denoted that the RJD cared for all Bahujans, Agda (upper castes), Aadhi Aabadi (women) and the poor, and not just Muslims and Yadavs.

He addressed three back-to-back rallies in Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Sheohar on the inaugural day of the ‘Jan Vishwas Yatra’, which will conclude on March 1 by when Yadav is likely to cover all 38 districts of the state during which he would seek, in his own words, a “political insurance” for himself.

“Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has grown old, not just in terms of age but also his mindset. We made him work on our promise of 10 lakh jobs and we were halfway through by the time he ditched us,” said the former deputy CM, who lost his job as a result of the latest vote-face by the JD(U) president.

“Kumar is ruling Bihar without any vision and he keeps switching sides without any reason. This is not going to work for the state. I have come to you seeking political insurance. Help me form a government for five years and I will turn the state around. Ours is a land of young people and it needs a young leadership,” the 34-year-leader told euphoric crowds.

He also said that “we keep hearing the charge that RJD is the party of MY (Muslims and Yadavs). Let me make it clear that we are also the party of BAAP”, evoking cheers and guffaws as he explained the full form.

Notably, ‘MY’ is pronounced as “maai”, the Hindi word for mother while ‘BAAP’ stands for father.

The witticism came in handy for the BJP, now back in power in alliance with the JD(U).

BJP spokesman Manoj Kumar Sharma came out with a tongue-in-cheek statement, alleging “even if inadvertently, Tejashwi Yadav has admitted that RJD is the party of ‘maai-baap’”.

The allusion was to Yadav’s parents Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi, the national president and vice president of the party.

However, Yadav added: “There is nothing that I seek for myself. My parents have both been chief ministers. I have been deputy CM twice and leader of the opposition as many times. I have enough for myself. All I want to do is for you, the common man”.

The RJD leader, whose party is an INDIA bloc constituent, accused the saffron party of “skirting issues like poverty and unemployment by indulging in the Hindu versus Muslim rhetoric”.

The RJD leader also spoke to PTI video on the sidelines of the mass outreach programme and said, “The Supreme Court judgement on Chandigarh mayoral polls has exposed manipulation of election results in connivance with officials”.

“This was witnessed in Bihar, after the 2020 assembly polls. Counting of votes was suspended around 3 pm when it became clear that the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ helmed by my party was going to win. Counting resumed late in the night, and in a number of seats, our candidates were shown as having lost by wafer-thin margins,” he alleged.

At Sitamarhi, the make-shift stage collapsed before Yadav could reach the venue. He, however, remained unfazed and addressed the crowds from the rooftop of his bus, with a turban wrapped around his head.