Tejashwi Yadav attacks Nitish, Naidu over bills to oust arrested leaders

Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday, 21 August, intensified his attack on the Centre, describing the three new bills that allow the removal of elected representatives arrested on serious charges and held without bail for over 30 days as “torture bills.”

Speaking to reporters before setting out on his Voter Adhikar Yatra in Sheikhpura, Sikandra, Jamui and Munger, Yadav accused Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu of engaging in “blackmail politics” and prioritising personal interests over the nation’s progress.

“The truth of the BJP and the Election Commission is being exposed to people through this yatra. Public faith in democracy is returning, and in the upcoming Bihar elections, they will teach the BJP a lesson with their votes,” Yadav said.

On Nitish Kumar, he was scathing: “People like Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu do not want the country to progress. They only do politics of power and selfishness. Nitish knows how to blackmail, but he has pushed Bihar backwards on crime, migration, education and law and order. There is no question of him becoming CM again — people have made up their minds to send him away.”

Responding to Nitish Kumar’s recent outreach to minority groups, Yadav dismissed it as meaningless. “The public has understood everything. Announcements and dialogues won’t help now — change is certain,” he said.

The Voter Adhikar Yatra, which resumed Thursday after a day’s break, is drawing large crowds, Yadav claimed. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is also expected to join the campaign from Sheikhpura.

With IANS inputs