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Tag: Tejashwi Yadav

  • Tejashwi writes to Nitish, seeks appointment with PM Modi for all-party delegation on Bihar flood situation

    By ANI

    PATNA: Former Bihar Deputy CM of and leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav wrote a letter to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday urging him to seek an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a meeting with an all-party delegation from the state to apprise him about the damage caused to the state due to floods and excessive rain.

    “The Central Government had given clearance to only one project Koshi-Mechi but it is unfortunate that no work has begun so far,” wrote the leader alleging that both the state and central governments failed to prevent the huge losses caused by floods.

    “The floods in Bihar portray another familiar picture of the State’s vulnerability to recurrent flood and is a grim reminder of the extensive devastations destruction and disruption caused by floods. Crores of people are affected and crops worth billions of Rupees get damaged every year due to the floods in more than 20 districts of the state. Now, Bihar has a double-engine government and so many announcements were made, but no solutions have been found,” Yadav said.

    He also suggested to the Chief Minister in the letter, “The rivers that flow perennially and overflow during rain, such as Koshi, Bagmati, Gandak, Budhi Gandak, Kamla Balan, Ghagra, Mahananda, should be linked with the rivers with the lesser flow of water.”

    He named the districts that are worst affected by flood every year, which include Sitamadhi, Shivhar, Supaul, Kishanganj, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, East Champaran, West Champaran, Khagaria, Saran, Samastipur, Siwan, Madhubani, Madhepura, Saharsa, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Vaishali and Patna. He further said that the Central and the State governments have merely announced various schemes for flood relief but no efforts have been made on the ground in this regard.

    The leader reminded the Chief Minister of various projects that were announced during the NDA rule and unfortunately, these proposals were put in cold storage and nothing has happened on the ground.

    “The Mechi river will be interlinked with the Koshi river. In 2011, various River Linking Projects were also announced to link the Kamla Balan, Mahananda, Ghagra, and other rivers of the state through canals and barrages but nothing has been done so far,” he stated.

    “It is unfortunate that the work on linking the rivers is moving at snail pace and no work has been initiated in the 3 years of the only project that has been given the clearance” alleged Tejashwi.

    He accused the Central Government of not providing sufficient funds for flood relief in Bihar whereas the states that are less affected by the flood are allotted more funds. He referred to the ‘Double-Engine Government’ and alleged that no special package has been announced for Bihar.

    In the letter, Tejashwi also urged the Chief Minister to demand from the Central Government to declare all the projects of interlinking of rivers, construction of dams and canals as ‘National Plan

    The RJD leader said, “under your leadership, an all-party delegation from the state should meet the Prime Minister on this issue and request him to speed up the river-linking projects of Bihar, for the welfare of the State,” concluded Tejashwi.

  • 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.

  • Contract ‘irregularities’: Tejashwi Yadav charges Bihar CM Nitish Kumar with running corrupt government

    By PTI

    PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of running a corrupt government in the state, alleging that all contracts are being awarded to friends and relatives of BJP and JD(U) leaders.

    Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad and other ministers are looting the state’s treasury, the leader of the opposition in the Bihar assembly alleged.

    Media reports on Wednesday claimed that in Katihar district, to which Prasad belongs, contracts worth Rs 53 crore for a piped water supply scheme were awarded to beneficiaries known to be close to him and one of them is his daughter-in-law.

    Prasad, a BJP leader, denied the charges and claimed that a conspiracy has been hatched to defame him and the state government.

    “All state government contracts related to development projects are awarded to the kith and kin of BJP and JD(U) leaders in violation of the set norms,” Yadav said.

    Nitish Kumar is protecting those corrupt leaders, he alleged while talking to reporters in Patna.

    “Whether it is Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad or other state ministers…all are looting government treasuries. The ministry concerned recently awarded contracts for tap water supply schemes worth Rs 53 crore in Katihar district to the close relatives and aides of the deputy CM violating the existing norms,” he said.

    The RJD leader demanded a high-level probe on the matter.

    Prasad said, “All allegations that have been levelled against me are false and baseless”.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • New political chemistry in Bihar? Chirag to invite Tejashwi for Paswan’s death anniversary event

    By ANI

    PATNA: Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MP Chirag Paswan is scheduled to meet Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday to invite him for an event on September 12 to mark the first death anniversary of his father and former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, said sources.

    “Chirag Paswan and Tejaswi Yadav are meeting for the first time after the Bihar election on Wednesday. Chirag is going to invite Tejashwi for his father’s first death anniversary programme,” said sources.

    Sources said the death anniversary event would be significant in the political context as it comes at a time when Chirag Paswan is in the middle of a bitter dispute with his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras over the claim of his father’s legacy.

    The LJP was formed by former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in 2000. Paswan, a heavyweight leader in Bihar politics, passed away in October 2020.

    Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, the younger brother of LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan along with five other MPs, had met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and handed over a letter to him seeking removal of Chirag Paswan as party chief. Birla had accepted Paras as the floor leader of the LJP in the Lower House. In a revised list of floor leaders of parties, Paras was listed as the Lok Sabha LJP leader.

    After being sidelined by the NDA, and his uncle Pashupati Paras who was sworn in as Union Minister, Chirag decided to go ahead with Aashirvaad Yatra in Bihar with a motive to secure his political future.

    Amid the power tussle in the LJP, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in August said he wants Chirag Paswan and Tejashwi Yadav to come together to form an alliance.

    Prior to that, Tejashwi Yadav had also called Chirag for joining hands with the Opposition. Chirag Paswan has also called Tejashwi Yadav his “younger brother” on several occasions.

  • If animals & trees can be counted, so can people: Tejashwi Yadav after meeting PM Modi over caste-based census

    By Agencies

    NEW DELHI: A 10-party delegation from Bihar headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday in support of a nationwide caste-based census.

    Kumar was joined by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and representatives of many other parties, including the BJP, and both leaders made a strong push for counting the population on the basis of caste.

    Kumar told reporters later that Modi heard them patiently.

    Asked about the prime minister’s stand on the issue, he said Modi did not “deny it” (caste census) and heard out everyone.

    A caste-based census will help in formulating various development plans effectively, he said.

    Speaking strongly in its support, Yadav said it will be a “historic” measure in helping the poor. If animals and trees can be counted, then so can people, he said.

    Asked if Kumar’s JD(U) and the RJD are getting closer with both parties joining hands over the issue, Yadav said the opposition in Bihar has always supported the government over pro-people measures and those in national interest.

    Besides Nitish and Tejashwi, JDU leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary, who is also the minister for education and parliamentary affairs, former Chief Minister and President of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) Jitan Ram Manjhi, Congress legislature party leader Ajeet Sharma and BJP leader and Bihar minister Janak Ram, CPI-ML legislature party leader Mahboob Alam, Akhtarul Imam of AIMIM, Mukesh Sahni of VIP, Suryakant Paswan of CPI and Ajay Kumar of CPM.

    ALSO READ| Hope Centre will reconsider its decision to hold caste-based census: Jitan Ram Manjhi

    Nitish Kumar had said a resolution regarding the caste-based census was passed unanimously in Bihar Legislative Assembly as well as the Legislative Council in 2019. A resolution was passed unanimously once again in 2020 in the state Legislative Assembly.

    “The demand of the caste census is not just the demand from Bihar but other states also. The Opposition parties in Bihar also wanted to meet the Prime Minister with us. We had written a letter to the Prime Minister regarding this,” Bihar chief minister had earlier said.

    “We want a caste-based Census and it is our long-standing demand. A caste-based Census will help all castes to get their exact numbers so that policies can be made accordingly. Caste census is in the interest of all. It is for the benefit of the country. It is the job of the central government to take a decision regarding the caste census. It is not a political issue but a social one,” Nitish Kumar had said.

    Delhi | People in Bihar and the entire country are of the same opinion on this issue. We are grateful to the PM for listening to us. Now, he has to take a decision on it: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on meeting with PM Narendra Modi over caste census pic.twitter.com/8e2F0LYoNo
    — ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2021
    Kumar, meanwhile, stated that if Centre does not agree then “Bihar will proceed to conduct a caste-based census.” However, the Central government has so far refused to accede to the demand.

    On July 20, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai had said: “The Government of India has decided as a matter of policy not to enumerate caste-wise populations other than SCs and STs in the census.”

    On March 10, 2021, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had clarified on caste-related details received from the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. In a reply, the Union Home Ministry said that raw caste data has been provided to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) for the classification and categorisation of the data.

    Delhi | Our delegation met the PM today not only for caste census in the state (Bihar) but in the entire country. We are awaiting a decision on this now: Tejashwi Yadav, RJD after meeting with PM Modi over caste census pic.twitter.com/HRyg77P3D5
    — ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2021
    “The Office of the Registrar General, India had provided logistics and technical support in conducting the SECC-2011. The raw caste data has been provided to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) for the classification and categorization of the data. As informed by MoSJE, there is no proposal to release the caste data at this stage,” the Home Ministry had said.

  • 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.

  • 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.