assembly-elections

Updated: Feb 03, 2020 21:22 IST

Leader of Opposition in the Bihar legislative assembly Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Monday took a swipe at chief minister Nitish Kumar for going back on his party’s stand not to have any truck with BJP outside the state, only to join it in Delhi and share stage with Union home minister Amit Shah to campaign for NDA candidates.

Tejashwi’s RJD is contesting four of the 70 seats in Delhi in alliance with the Congress. The former deputy chief minister who also campaigned for RJD candidates along with Bihar’s Congress chief Madan Mohan Jha on Sunday, said that Nitish Kumar has displayed a sense of desperation to share stage with Shah and in doing so “has broken all past records of uttering lies.”

In a statement, Tejashwi also attacked Kumar for branding Delhi as a city worse than any in Bihar and said that he was amazed at the “brazen manner” in which the chief minister has tried to tarnish the image of Delhi, which continues to be the favoured destination for “crores of Biharis”.

“Is this a ploy to please Shah?” he asked, adding “Kumar must answer why his 15-year good governance regime has not been able to check migration to destinations outside the state. Your political compulsion, plight and shrewdness were all evident on Sunday, despite your efforts to camouflage them with rhetoric.”

Tejashwi went on the hammer his point saying “If you (Kumar) think that infrastructure, education and health care system of Delhi are worse than that in Bihar then there is little one can say about your perception and appreciation of things at the ground level.”

He charged Kumar, who heads the Janata Dal (United), with doing away the practice of issuing government report cards in the state and having the gumption to demand account from Opposition ruled state, which he alleged, amounted to “defending the indefensible.” The JD (U) is contesting two seats in Delhi.

Without naming Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Kumar during his meetings in Burari and Sangam Vihar had said, “Some people are more interested in publicity and advertisements and are in the habit of praising oneself. We don’t do that ... Those who got the mandate to govern Delhi have done nothing.”

Recounting the Nitish Kumar government’s alleged failure on several fronts, the RJD leader said that 500 children died of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in the state, besides thousands lost their lives due to heat wave and floods. “The whole country watched the catastrophic water-logging in state capital on television, but instead of fighting for special category status and special package for Bihar, you are busy praising leaders who have pushed the country in turmoil to suit your end,” he charged.