RJD and CPI members also blocked railway lines in Patna, Ara, Jahanabad and Madhepura.
Tag: RJD
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RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav writes to non-BJP leaders on caste census
By PTI
PATNA: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday reached out to non-BJP leaders across the country seeking their support on the issue of caste census for backward classes, which has received a cold shoulder from the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
Two days after the Union government told the Supreme Court that it had taken a “conscious policy decision” not to undertake enumeration of OBCs and EBCs which it deemed “administratively cumbersome”, Yadav, leader of the opposition in the Bihar assembly, shot off letters to politicians as diverse as Nitish Kumar, Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal.
In the strongly-worded letter addressed to a total of 33 recipients, Yadav said “it bears repeating for a brazenly callous government that the caste system, which Dr B R Ambedkar referred to as a system of graded inequality, has been a great source of disadvantage for a significantly large section of population”.
ALSO READ | Centre’s no to caste census: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in shock, RJD goes ballistic
The Centre has agreed for a head count of only the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, much to the chagrin of the numerically powerful OBCs who have dominated politics in Hindi belt, particularly Bihar, since the 1990s.
Yadav, whose father Lalu Prasad and the his arch rival Chief Minister Nitish Kumar owe their rise in politics to the Mandal movement for OBC emowerment, said in his letter “we need to join our hands and push the government of the day” on the issue of caste census.
“I am open to suggestions and inputs from you so that we immediately prepare our plan of action in this regard without any further delay”, said Yadav, who was a part of an all-party delegation headed by Nitish Kumar that had recently met the Prime Minister to press the demand.
ALSO READ | BJP takes dig at oppn parties pitching over caste census, says it stands for ‘sabka saath’
All non-BJP Chief Ministers, including Uddhav Thackeray, M K Stalin, Naveen Patnaik, K Chandrasekhar Rao and Jaganmohan Reddy, besides heads of political parties not aligned with the NDA like Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, Parkash Singh Badal and Sitaram Yechury have been marked a copy of the letter.
The NDA’s alliance partners in Bihar, including Kumar, Hindustani Awam Morcha chief Jitan Ram Manjhi and Vikassheel Insaan Party president Mukesh Sahni also figure in the list.
So does LJP’s Chirag Paswan though, interestingly, his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras who heads a rival faction of the party and is a Union minister is not among the recipients.
Similarly, Akhtarul Iman, state president of the AIMIM, has been sent the letter but not the party chief Asaduddin Owaisi who claims to be equidistant from the BJP and mainstream “secular” parties like the Congress and its allies, including RJD.
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Patna court orders FIR against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Misa Bharti and others
By PTI
PATNA: A court here has directed the police to lodge an FIR against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, her MP sister Misa Bharti and some other political figures on the complaint of a person who has alleged he was duped of Rs five crore with the promise of a Lok Sabha ticket in the 2019 general elections.
Chief Judicial Magistrate, Patna, Vijay Kishore Singh passed the order on September 16 on the petition of Sanjiv Kumar Singh, who claimed he was associated with the Congress and was an aspirant for a party ticket for the Bhagalpur seat.
In his complaint, he has also named Yadav’s elder sister and Rajya Sabha member Misa Bharti, besides state Congress president Madan Mohan Jha, late BPCC chief Sadanand Singh and his son Shubhanand Mukesh, as also Congress spokesperson Rajesh Rathore.
ALSO READ | NDA attacks Tejashwi Yadav over alleged video of him handing cash to women
The court has directed the Senior SP of Patna to lodge an FIR on the complaint at the Kotwali police station and conduct an investigation.
Reacting with dismay to the development, RJD spokesman and former MLA Mrityunjay Tiwari said, “We are aghast that such a complaint has been entertained. The complainant claims he was seeking a Congress ticket and he has named leaders of our party as accused.”
The Congress has been an old ally of the RJD and the two parties had fought the Lok Sabha elections in alliance.
RJD’s sitting MP Shailesh Kumar alias Bulo Mandal had contested the Bhagalpur seat and lost to JD(U)’s Ajay Mandal.
Leaders of the state Congress have so far been tight-lipped on the complainant’s proclaimed association with the party.
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After Tejashwi’s support, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi calls for Paswan statue in Patna
Express News Service
PATNA: The Lok Janshakti Party (Chirag group) might be not in good political terms with the ruling BJP in Bihar after the last assembly elections but BJP’s one of the senior most leader and former deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi came out in support of installation of statue of veteran leader and founder of LJP Ram Vilas Paswan.
A day before Modi’s coming out in support of Paswan’s statue in Patna, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had demanded the installation of Paswan’s statue in Patna.
This turn of support, albeit without naming Tejashwi Yadav for his demand on the same, Sushil Kumar Modi on Saturday took everyone in NDA by their suprise demanding statue of Ram Vilas Paswan in Patna.
“Considering the contribution and big role played by Ram Vilas Paswan in the development and national politics of Bihar, his statue should be installed in Patna,” Modi said in a series of tweets from his official Twitter handle.
Political experts in Patna were also surprised on the events as for the first time the junior Modi from Bihar has never ]directly or indirectly supported any statement on the demand of leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav.
Modi is considered the die hard opposed to Lalu Yadav’s family in Bihar politics.
Modi went a step further from Tejashwi Yadav with the demand of State function on the birth anniversary of late Ram Vilas Paswan owing to Paswan’s struggle and continuous fight for the advancement of Dalits.
“Paswan never did politics of hate and he was the main architect of NDA politics. He served the country under the successful government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi,” he said, adding that Bihar can never forget his contribution as Railway Minister also.
He said that on the first anniversary of a leader like Paswan, people from all parties and sections should pay tribute to him. “There should be no politics on this,” he said obliquely, taking a jibe on Tejashwi Yadav recent few statements.
Modi on the eve of Paswan’s first death anniversary said that Paswan after the lifting of emergency in 1977, had made a record of winning by the highest margin of votes.
Modi’s statements have come at a time when Chirag Paswan, the son of late Ram Vilas Paswan, himself met all BJP leaders and invited them on the death anniversary on Sunday.
CM Nitish Kumar has also been invited but whether he would go or not is still not confirmed. Chirag Paswan had sought time from Nitish Kumar, that was not given to him.
Recently, Chirag Paswan also met RJD chief Lalu Prasad in Delhi and invited him.
Lalu’s statements of assuring all supports to Chirag Paswan had sent the NDA leaders, especially the JDU MLAs, into a political tizzy.
Now, Modi’s support for statue of Paswan in Patna has sparked a debate inside the NDA with a speculation about growing ideological and political differences between BJP and JDU.
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NDA attacks Tejashwi Yadav over alleged video of him handing cash to women
Express News Service
PATNA: A video purportedly showing RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav distributing money to womenand dropping name of his father Lalu Prasad Yadav while campaigning for panchayat election in Gopalganj has given the Bihar BJP and JD(U) ammo to target the Opposition party. The video could not be independently verified.
While the Bihar ruling alliance had a field day on Friday, mocking the Yadav scion and urging the election commission to crack whip on him, none from RJD spoke on the issue. The viral video showed Tejashwi, seated in the front seat of his car, handing out `500 notes to a few women, while introducing himself as the son of Lalu. “Do you know me? I am the son of Laluji,” he purportedly told the women.
The video was posted on Twitter by JD(U) MLC Neeraj Kumar, who accused the Yadav scion of duping innocent women. Tejashwi was in Gopalganj to address a public rally. Lashing out at Tejashwi, Neeraj Kumar said a man who could not carve out an identity for himself in politics was distributing money to stay relevant.
Tejashwi Yadav “He survives on the legacy of his father, who was convicted in the fodder scam cases. He is a leader on compassionate ground in politics,” Neeraj posted on his official tweet handle. Through his sarcasm-laden posts, Neeraj Kumar suggested Tejashwi distribute land fraudulently amassed by his father as well. “Tejashwi Yadav has gone a step ahead of his father in cheating the gullible by giving cash instead of uplifting their lot,” Neeraj mocked.
BJP spokesperson Dr Nikhil Anand said Tejashwi was carrying forward the political legacy of RJD. “Despite the model code of conduct being in force, he is distributing cash. Ethics is wholly missing from his politics,” he alleged, adding RJD was distributing money to gain traction during the election.
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BJP opposes installation of Ram Vilas Paswan’s bust at former Delhi residence, RJD demands it in Patna
By Express News Service
PATNA: In a declaration, BJP in Bihar has opposed the installation of the bust of LJP founder and former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan at the premises of his previous residence in Janpath, New Delhi.
Ram Vilas Paswan’s bust was installed hurriedly after a notice for eviction of the bungalow was served to Jamui MP and his son, Chirag Paswan, who now heads another faction of the LJP after his uncle split the party.
The 8-inch-tall bust of Ram Vilas Paswan was been installed at the center of the bungalow, a week ahead of Paswan’s first death anniversary on September 12.
The bungalow had been reallocated to Union Railway and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav after Paswan’s demise, by the central government, however, the Paswan family has been living there for the last 30 years.
The controversy started after the assembly polls strained political ties between the LJP and BJP, following which, the notice for eviction was served to Chirag Paswan.
Taking note of the bust’s installation, BJP national general secretary of OBC Morcha Dr Nikhil Anand in Patna said: “RV Paswan was a great leader..but the way Chirag Paswan has installed the bust of his father at his Delhi residence is wrong. All things have a process.”
He further said that Chirag Paswan should have followed the proper procedure and shown maturity.
“Chirag Paswan should have given a petition to the government’s concerned department before installation of his father’s bust. But he didn’t. This act is against the parliamentary procedures and he (Chirag Paswan) needs to be a little more sensitive,” Anand said, adding that tactics like this may spoil Chirag’s political prospects.
On other hand, showing solidarity to Chirag Paswan a day after meeting him, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday demanded the installation of Ram Vilas Paswan’s bust in Patna, along with the statue of former RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh.
“I demand the state government to install the statues of both Ram Vilas Paswan and Raghuvansh Prasad Singh in Patna as they were Bihar’s leaders,” Tejashwi said.
He also added that both these leaders’ death anniversaries should be included in the list of state-sponsored functions.
BJP leader Pramod Kumar responded to the ‘demand’ stating that there is no problem with following through with these installations but statues of the party’s stalwarts like Kailashpati Mishra and others should also be installed.
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Tejashwi Yadav, Chirag Paswan meet sets off Bihar rumour mills
Express News Service
PATNA: Amid speculation that Bihar’s LJP and RJD will join hands against the BJP and JD(U), two young leaders from either party Chirag Paswan of LJP and Tejashwi Yadav of RJD met on Wednesday for the first time since the recent Assembly elections.
The young leaders demonstrated good chemistry between them during the meeting and the subsequent media briefing. This has not only gotten the rumour mills churning, but also hinted that a tightrope walk awaits the NDA, especially the JD(U).
The meeting assumed significance as it comes following a statement by RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav that Chirag Paswan has established himself as the leader in Bihar, and that both Tejashwi Yadav and Chirag Paswan should come together. Though neither of the two leaders spoke anything about the possible political alignment in the future, the chemistry they displayed is a reflection of the growing political affinity between them.
“Chirag Paswan is like a member of my family. I have learned a lot when I entered politics in 2010 form honourable (late) Ram Vilas Paswan,” Tejashwi Yadav told the media. Chirag Paswan, addressing Tejashwi Yadav as bhai said his father Ram Vilas Paswan had a very close and cordial relationship with Lalu Prasad Yadav and the two worked closely with each other.
“My father always maintained a cordial relation with leaders of all parties. I have come to invite Tejashwi bhai and family to my father’s first death anniversary function,” Chirag said.
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As parties unite for caste census, Bihar BJP to meet people with works done for OBCs
Express News Service
PATNA: Amid the growing dissension among the NDA allies with backup from opposition on the caste census, Bihar BJP’s OBC Morcha resolved on Tuesday to reach the people of OBCs with the works done for them by the BJP government in Centre or State.
Attending the meeting of Patna Mahanagar OBC Morcha, former dy chief minister and current MP (RS) Sushil Kumar Modi claimed that the BJP-led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not only done a lot of works for the OBC people but also emerged as the real party concerned about the OBCs and other extremely backward classes.
“A simple example of BJP is enough to prove the party’s genuine concern for the OBCs. As many as 27 OBC MPs are in the union cabinet of BJP-led government in centre as ministers. Besides this, reservation granted to the children of people belonging to OBCs in NEET is another benchmark in the credibility of party for the OBCs,” Modi said.
Dr Nikhil Anand, national general secretary of BJP OBC Morcha, told this newspaper that a two-day executive meeting of Bihar OBC Morcha will be held in one of the most backward districts-Khagaria on September 4 and 5.
The Bihar BJP is all geared up to expose the opposition on the demand of caste census for OBCs by highlighting the works done for the betterment of people of OBCs across the state.
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Tej Pratap leaves brother Tejashwi’s house fuming as tussle ensues RJD over office-bearer’s sacking
Express News Service
PATNA: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad’s family on Friday had a very tough and tense time when Tej Pratap Yadav, who claims to be ‘Krishna’, had to came out furiously after he was allegedly prevented from speaking to his own ‘Arjun’ – Tejashwi Yadav.
The stated purpose of the visit by Tej Pratap to the 10-Circular road was a bit different from what it used to be earlier.
Tej Pratap, irked over the unceremonious removal of the state president of RJD students wing Akash Yadav, went there to to take cognizance of the act allegedly carried out by the state president of RJD Jagdanand Singh.
Tej Pratap was allegedly prevented from speaking to Tejashwi by Sanjay Yadav – the political advisor of Tejashwi.
“Who is Sanjay Yadav to come between two brothers? He prevented me to speak to Tejashwi Yadav and took him from near me to a room. I’ll not tolerate it,” Tej Pratap furiously fumed before the media.
In fact, Tej Pratap Yadav is young angry man of Lalu’s family, who more often than not hogs the media limelight by making controversial statements on the pretext of speaking the fact and truth.
Tej Pratap Yadav is well known to standing behind his supporters always under any circumstances.
“Removal of Akash Yadav without a notice as per the Constitution of Party is a dictotarial act of Jagdanand Singh. He is damaging the party by humiliating the workers and my father Lalu Prasad ji must be taking it into his notice,” he said.
Tej Pratap Yadav had equated Jagdanand Singh with a character of Mahabharata- Dhrishrattra and Tejashwi’s political advisor-Sanjay Yadav as Shalini.
Amid all happenings on Friday, Tej Pratap Yadav announced to hold the Junta Darwar at party office from Saturday, which may again result into an unwarranted development at the party office, if the state president Jagdanand Singh tries to stop it.
A couple of days ago, Tej Pratap Yadav had expressed threat to his life from hidden enemies. Ruling JD-U immediately assured to provide him adequate safety if Tej Pratap Yadav seeks it from the government.
Political experts here believed that tussle growing between Tej Pratap Yadav and Jagdanand Singh and now indirectly with Tejashwi Yadav may ultimately damage the party prospects ahead.
Lalu Prasad is silent over entire happening officially and but the sudden departure of Tejashwi Yadav on Friday to Delhi is learnt to be aimed at discussing the entire episode with his brother.
Sources said that only wayout is Lalu Prasad, who can pacify Tej Pratap Yadav and control the simmering tension from taking ugly development in party.
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Opposition meet: Tejashwi Yadav seeks ‘driving seat’ for regional parties
By PTI
PATNA: The opposition in the country must get cracking for the next Lok Sabha polls and regional parties must be allowed to be in the “driving seat” wherever these were strong, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav asserted on Friday.
Addressing a meeting of opposition parties via video conference from here, convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi, the RJD leader said that recent assembly polls in West Bengal, where BJP was trounced, and Bihar where the NDA could just scrape through, could serve as an inspiration for the big battle in 2024.
The 33-year-old, who steered his party to an impressive show in the Bihar assembly polls last year thereby emerging out of the shadow of his father Lalu Prasad, underscored that the opposition needed to bring in “dhaar” (edge) and “nayaapan” (novelty) in its electoral issues.
“The opposition must fight polls on its own agenda. The experience of West Bengal and Bihar has shown how we should be taking on the BJP”, said the RJD leader whose party has ended up in the opposition in the state though it has the largest number of MLAs.
“We must start working on our strategy for 2024 now. The opposition has opted for the beaten track for the past seven years. We must bring in ‘dhaar’ and ‘nayaapan’ in the issues we raise”, said the former Bihar deputy chief minister.
He asserted that the opposition must start “hitting the streets” besides finalising its alliances well in advance since coalitions stitched shortly before elections left confusion in the minds of the people.
Yadav lamented that the opposition had “innumerable issues” at hand but was “unable to cash in on these despite palpable public anger”.
He also stressed on the need for “better communication among opposition parties at national as well as state levels”.
“The opposition must put up a credible alternative by sending across a message of unity and shared vision and programme among the parties.”
“Moreover, in states where regional parties are strong, these should be allowed to be in the driving seat”, the RJD leader asserted.
Notably, in Bihar, a fine performance by Yadav’s party notwithstanding, old ally Congress emerged as the proverbial weak link as it could bag less than 20 seats despite contesting 70.
The performance of the Left was said to be the best in recent decades though its strike rate too was not much to speak about.
A few months later in adjoining West Bengal, Yadav extended his support to Mamata Banerjee’s TMC, despite his alliance in Bihar with Congress and the Left which were decimated in the assembly polls that turned out to be a straight contest between the firmly entrenched ruling party and the rapidly growing BJP.
He also appealed to all opposition parties to put pressure on the Narendra Modi government for conducting the census caste-wise.
“It is an important issue. The BJP government did not make public even the findings of the socio-economic survey conducted in 2011 when the Congress-led UPA was in power”, said the leader of the opposition who is expected to be part of the delegation of political leaders from Bihar, headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, which would raise the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi next week.