New Delhi, July 28 (IANS) Bihar Minister Ram Kripal Yadav on Tuesday questioned Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD leader and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, over his long absence from the state political stage, saying that his appearance now in the Bankipur poll campaign will not have any impact.
Speaking on Tejashwi Yadav’s scheduled roadshow, Ram Kripal Yadav said, “… I came to know only yesterday. He had gone somewhere abroad, to Norway or somewhere, I heard… They should have been working. Even if you were not there, your party workers and your other leaders should have come out and done the work…”
BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi also attacked the RJD leader, accusing him of being a part-time politician and questioning his commitment to Bihar.
“Does Tejashwi Yadav care about Bihar? He has become a part-time politician. He comes here once a month and talks about movements and Bihar. An important session was held, and he was not there even for a single day. He keeps disappearing continuously. Does he care about Bihar, or about the students and youth here? Then he comes, speaks for four days, you people show it on media, and then he disappears again…” Saraogi said.
Meanwhile, JD(U) chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, “…Tejashwi Yadav is himself a migrant Bihari.”
The remarks came as campaigning intensified for the high-stakes Bankipur by-election, with Tejashwi Yadav holding another roadshow in Patna on Tuesday.
The campaign for the July 30 bypoll will conclude on Tuesday evening, while polling will take place on July 30. The counting of votes is scheduled for August 3.
Earlier on Monday, Tejashwi Yadav led a nearly four-kilometre roadshow across several areas of the Bankipur constituency along with RJD candidate Rekha Gupta. The RJD leader and Gupta greeted supporters from their vehicle during the campaign march, which began from the Mithapur party office and ended at Sabzibagh Chowk via Chiraiya Tand Bridge.
During the roadshow, Tejashwi also launched an attack on Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, calling him a “selected” chief minister and alleging that the government had failed to deliver development.
He claimed that the Chief Minister had done no work except getting bullets fired. “The three students were fortunate to survive police bullets in Siwan during student protest, but nothing like this had ever happened in the country before,” Tejashwi said.
The Bankipur by-election has emerged as a major political contest in Bihar, with both the ruling alliance and opposition parties intensifying their campaigns in the final phase before polling.
–IANS
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