JD(U)-BJP conspiring to get Tejashwi murdered: Rabri Devi

Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi on Friday alleged that the state's ruling JD(U)-BJP combine had hatched a "conspiracy to murder" her son and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav ahead of the state assembly polls. Yadav is expected to lead the INDIA bloc charge in the upcoming polls.

Spekaing exclusively to PTI-Video, the leader of opposition in the legislative council also claimed that attempts have been made on the life of the young leader in the past, "at least two, three or four times".

Rabri Devi was asked about incidents inside the assembly a day ago, where some members from the ruling coalition had charged at Yadav, who is the leader of opposition in the lower house.

His mother replied, "There is an attempt to murder Tejashwi. So many killings are taking place in Bihar, let there be one more. Who else, but the JD(U)-BJP is involved in this conspiracy. They want him bumped off so that he is not around to challenge them in elections."

She added, "There have been attempts on Tejashwi's life in the past, for about two, three or four times. Once a truck had tried to run over his vehicle".

Rabri Devi was also asked about the outbursts inside the House of chief minister Nitish Kumar, who had taken exception to opposition legislators turning up in black clothes, as a mark of protest against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. "Nitish Kumar seems to be provoked by black clothes just as a bull begins to charge on seeing red. What wrong did we do inside the House? The proceedings have been recorded. School children were sitting in the viewers' gallery. I dare the government to prove any misconduct on our part," she said.

The ex-CM had reached the House on the last day of the monsoon session, determined to put the government on the mat.

Earlier, she had staged a demonstration, joined by other opposition MLCs, at the gate of the Vidhan Parishad. Slogans were raised against the special intensive revision and the conduct of NDA leaders in the assembly on the previous day.

The RJD leader was irked when journalists asked her about the claim by deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary, who had on Thursday put the blame for the pandemonium inside the assembly squarely on opposition MLAs led by Tejashwi Yadav.

She shot back, "Do not ask me about Samrat Choudhary. I have known him since he was a child. He has been a goon and used to harass girls in Boring Road (a locality in Patna). Let us not speak much about those in the JD(U)-BJP combine. They are gutter filth (naali ke keede)".

Choudhary, a former state president of the BJP, had begun his political career in the 1990s as a minister in Rabri Devi's cabinet.

When Vijay Kumar Sinha, another deputy CM and a veteran BJP leader, was asked about Rabri Devi's tirade, he responded sarcastically, "The RJD is equated with jungle raj and, therefore, they have good knowledge of who is a goon and who is not".

"We, in the BJP, believe in taking all people along in the greater interests of the society and reform those who may have been led astray in the past. As for the type of language used by her, one does not expect anything else from RJD people", added Sinha.

When Ashok Choudhary, a senior JD(U) leader and minister, was asked about Rabri Devi's fulminations, he said, "She should be ashamed of using such foul language. I would pray to God that she gets some good sense (sadbuddhi)".