RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday got frustrated when questioned about the possibility of reconciling with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) president, who had parted ways with his party last year to rejoin the BJP-led NDA.
Yadav, the former deputy CM, was speaking at a press conference here following a 'dharna' organized by the RJD to protest against the alleged "theft and exploitation of reservations by the NDA."
When asked if he would consider reuniting with his former boss and JD(U) chief ahead of the assembly elections, Yadav responded saying, "Why would we join hands? Why are you trying to divert attention from the issue at hand?" It was brought to his attention that certain media reports had suggested that Kumar, who recently turned 74, was apprehensive that the BJP might push for a leadership change after the elections, and that the RJD was ready to capitalize on this by offering a potential realignment.
However, the usually friendly Yadav responded firmly, saying, "there is no offer from anybody. In my party, only RJD president Lalu ji and I are authorised to take any decision on alliances. Please do not talk nonsense".
The young leader emphasized that Kumar was "no longer in his senses which was evident from the quality of language he has come to use in public."
Recalling a few instances when Kumar attempted to touch Prime Minister Narendra Modi's feet in public, Yadav questioned, "Does this behove the chief minister of a state?" "The day may not be far when Kumar will be falling at the feet of his two current deputies Vijay Kumar Sinha and Samrat Choudhary," Yadav claimed.
Yadav also criticized the BJP, accusing them of pushing an "anti-reservation agenda" in Bihar.
"This is why the state government's lawyers in the Supreme Court are not arguing properly when the petition on quotas is heard," he alleged.
Notably, the state government has challenged a Patna High Court decision in the Supreme Court, which had struck down the legislation that increased quotas for underprivileged castes from 50 percent to 65 percent.
The RJD leader, whose party was in power in Bihar when the quota hike was introduced in November 2023, said, "We are fighting to get the quotas restored. We are fighting it out in the court, as well as on the streets".
He alleged, "The chief minister, though, is silent. He is unable to use his clout with the Centre to get the legislations protected against judicial intervention by placing these in the Ninth Schedule (of the Constitution)." Yadav also claimed, "He (Kumar) also seems unconcerned about the need for a nationwide caste census, on the lines of the survey conducted in Bihar when we were in power together."
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