&w=3840&q=100)
Nitish is tired; retired, corrupt officers running Bihar: Tejashwi Yadav
Yadav's response came after he was asked about his "mentally unfit or unhealthy" remarks against Nitish Kumar.
"Have you noticed that Nitish Kumar doesn't say anything to the media? When there are government officials or the Deputy Chief Minister on stage, why do they hold his hand? When the national anthem is playing, he talks with the officials. What does it tell you? When respect was being paid to Mahatma Gandhi, he was busy applauding, and everyone was telling him to put down his hands," Yadav said in an exclusive interview with ANI.
Recalling various incidents where the officials had to give directions to Nitish Kumar in public, the RJD leader said that Kumar only goes out to public events for a photoshoot when the Opposition comments on his "tiredness", but remains within a few kilometres' radius of his official residence.
"This is a stage in life, and I don't like to comment on it. However, he is tired. When we say this, he goes for a photoshoot but stays within a 2-3 kilometre radius of his residence in Patna. Why doesn't he go and meet the rape victim? Why does he not visit the incident sites? Why doesn't he hold press conferences?" Yadav asked.
When asked who is running the government if the CM is "tired", Yadav said that it was the retired and corrupt officials who were running the Bihar government.
"Retired, corrupt officials. Those who are corrupt officials. The Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) Superintendent had retired, but he was given an extension after my government fell. The Chief Engineer, who was caught with crores of rupees, was retired only," he added.
Moreover, Yadav claimed that if the law and order situation in Bihar is compared to the one under the previous RJD-led Mahagathbandhan government based on crime data, it would reveal that criminal activities are "out of control "under the Nitish Kumar government.
"Our term in Bihar is often labelled as 'Maha jungle raj'. Compare it with the data whether the law and order situation was good during our term or is good this term. If you go through the data, it is clear that the crime is out of control under Nitish Kumar (government)," the RJD leader said.
Yadav questioned the silence of the media over the actions of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha during his visit to the rape victim's family in Muzzafarpur, where he asked them to swear to prove whether they were speaking the truth that they had to wait to avail treatment for the minor Dalit girl at PMCH.
"The rape case that happened, the Deputy Chief Minister asked the family members (of the victim) to swear on their mother and sister that treatment was refused at PMCH. The family had alleged that they were kept outside (waiting) for nearly four to five hours, which was the truth; that's why you removed the Deputy Superintendent. Are you visiting there to give sympathy or ask them to swear on their mother that they are speaking the truth? This is not a matter of debate in the news," he added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
44 minutes ago
- News18
Nitish Kumar Will Be CM Again If NDA Wins Bihar, I'm Not Eyeing Deputy Post: Chirag Paswan
Last Updated: Speaking to CNN-News18, Paswan said rumours about Nitish Kumar's health are being blown out of proportion and are not a concern within the NDA Nitish Kumar will take oath as the Chief Minister again if the NDA wins the upcoming Bihar elections, Union Minister and LJP leader Chirag Paswan told CNN-News18 in an interview in Patna. Paswan also said he is not interested in becoming Deputy Chief Minister. This is significant, as there has been considerable speculation over whether the NDA would continue with Nitish Kumar as CM if the alliance wins. 'I am telling you on behalf of the alliance that Nitish Kumar will be the Chief Minister (again)," Paswan told CNN-News18. He said this will be irrespective of how many seats each NDA ally wins. Paswan also reiterated that he wants to contest from an Assembly seat this time, and that his party wants it to be a general seat. 'I am confident that the NDA alliance of five parties is a winning alliance. This time it will be an all-time high historic win for us with more than 225 seats. We have proved ourselves during recent by-polls. We won Belaganj, which the NDA had not won for over three decades," Chirag Paswan said. 'Don't See Myself in Centre': Paswan Paswan also revealed that CM Nitish Kumar had recently asked him if he was 'serious" about contesting the Assembly election. 'He wanted to know which area or Assembly seat I am looking at. I told him I wanted to, and it was my personal wish. I don't see myself too much in the Centre… my whole purpose of entering politics was for Bihar and Biharis. It is not possible to do it while living in Delhi as a third-time MP. So, it is high time I move back to my state," the Union Minister said. Paswan, however, made it clear that he was not aiming for any post like Deputy Chief Minister. 'It does not lure me… this urge of holding a post. If that was my priority, I wouldn't have left the alliance in 2020. Now, after our win and as per the strength of the party, everyone will be given their respective role in the government. I am not aiming for a Deputy CM role. If a situation comes, it will be a party member of ours, not me," he said. Nitish's Health Is Fine: Paswan Chirag Paswan also told CNN-News18 that talk about Nitish Kumar's health 'is being blown totally out of proportion of what it actually is" and dismissed such rumours. 'If it (Nitish's health) were an issue of concern, we would have discussed it inside the alliance. But it is not a concern," he said. Paswan laughed when asked how he harmed Nitish Kumar's party in the 2020 elections after contesting outside the NDA alliance. He, however, explained the context and said he has now buried the hatchet with Nitish Kumar. 'Immediately after the 2019 election, I felt my party and I were being cornered in the alliance. This was the time when my father was not keeping well. I was naïve and new, and they thought I wouldn't be able to pull it off like my father did," he said. 'I was not being asked or told things, and not being kept in the loop. I was not given the space. I have issues and concerns now too, but now I have been given the space inside the alliance to voice and address them," Paswan added. Seat-Sharing And Campaign Paswan told CNN-News18 that seat-sharing in the NDA in Bihar takes time but is eventually done amicably. 'It will be very wrong on my part if I share any figure with you before I do it inside the alliance," he said, when asked about his party's desired number of seats. He said the LJP has a superb strike rate and won all five Lok Sabha seats it contested a year ago, and hence wishes for a number of seats that reflects its performance. 'That is how it should be. Every ally should get seats as per their strength and winnability factor," Paswan said, laying his case for more seats. Paswan said he is holding rallies across the state—in Shahbad, Arrah, Rajgir—and will do one in July in Chhapra, followed by Munger and Gaya. 'This is to charge up our voters and make them understand how beneficial this double-engine government is for our state. PM has already visited Bihar seven times," Paswan said. ECI Campaign The Election Commission's campaign to revise electoral rolls in Bihar and seek documents from voters has been touted by the Opposition as a move to deprive people of their right to vote. Opposition parties have also moved the ECI against it. 'The Opposition is trying to create a perception in Bihar that what the ECI is doing is like nuisance—so that when they lose the Bihar elections now, they can blame this rather than the EVMs, which is a narrative that did not work," Paswan said. Paswan said the ECI is following a process that has been done before, and added that he does not understand why the Opposition is making such a big political issue out of it. 'The voter list has to be sanitised at regular intervals. There are some concerns about documents being available or not. But I think the local administration is more than available to help them with it, and we, as a party organisation, are helping the voters with it. We also have concerns about those who are not part of the voter list," Paswan told CNN-News18. With the NDA gearing up for a high-stakes battle in Bihar, Chirag Paswan's remarks signal a more unified front this time, despite past tensions with Nitish Kumar. About the Author Aman Sharma Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister's More First Published:
New Indian Express
44 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Dalit sanitation workers allege caste abuse by Melpathi panchayat president in TN
VILLUPURAM: The Tamil Nadu government has directed the Villupuram SP to inquire into allegations of caste-based discrimination against four Dalit sanitation workers in Melpathi village. The directive from the deputy secretary (Home Department) follows a petition submitted to the chief minister's special cell. G Muniyammal (47), one of the workers, alleged that she and three others were forced to clean human faeces with bare hands and subjected to repeated caste-based abuse by Melpathi panchayat president R Manivel and a few Caste Hindu members. They also accused local police officers of coercing the workers into withdrawing the complaint. The four workers - Muniyammal, K Athilakshmi, S Nagaraj, and P Govindaraj - collect household waste in the village. Following the attack on a Dalit family by the caste Hindus allegedly for entering the Shri Dharmaraja Draupathi Amman Temple on April 7, 2023, the workers said they are being humiliated publicly and unfairly blamed for the temple dispute. The workers stated that the discrimination, verbal abuse, and physical intimidation from the panchayat president has become unbearable over the past two years. 'We were mocked, threatened, and assigned demeaning tasks. We were told not to enter certain streets and they made us feel like we didn't belong here. We were even forced to clean human faeces with bare hands,' Muniyammal told TNIE. 'They even forced us to sign blank papers that were later fabricated to claim that we have withdrawn the complaint.' Despite repeated appeals to panchayat officials, including vice president Selvam, and sanitation supervisor Kavitha, no action has been taken, the workers said in the complaint.
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Devanahalli farmers appeal to CM to stop land acquisition
BENGALURU: With the farmers' protest in Devanahalli entering the seventh day, leaders from the National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM) and several farmer groups have issued a fresh appeal to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, demanding immediate withdrawal of land acquisition proceedings for 1,777 acres of fertile, multi-crop farmland in Channarayapatna hobli. It is home to over 800 farmers — many from Dalit, Adivasi and other marginalized communities. In a detailed open letter ahead of a key government meeting scheduled for July 4, the activists urged the state to uphold the rights and dignity of cultivators. The letter refers to a 2022 KIADB survey which shows that over 80 per cent of affected farmers oppose the land takeover, originally initiated under the previous BJP government for a proposed Hi-Tech Defence and Aerospace Park. Protesters say the move endangers both livelihoods and the region's food security. The resistance has been largely peaceful, taking the form of a Bhoomi Satyagraha at Bengaluru's Freedom Park. However, tensions flared during the June 25 'Chalo Devanahalli' protest, where demonstrators faced lathicharge and were detained, which was condemned by civil society. Notable figures, including actor Prakash Raj, have extended support, and farmer movements from 15 states have endorsed the cause, making the Devanahalli protest a symbol of agrarian resistance. The farmers launched the 1,185-day movement during the BJP tenure. Activist Medha Patkar also appealed to the CM, calling for adherence to the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Act (LARR), 2013. She criticized the use of laws like the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Act to bypass democratic processes, and emphasized the need to protect multi-crop farmland rather than sacrificing it for industrial projects. 'We are not against industrialization,' she wrote, 'but it should be decentralized, employment-generating, and located on government or wasteland — not on fertile fields tilled for generations.' Meanwhile, the Chief Minister's Office has confirmed a high-level meeting on Friday with farmers' representatives. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Law Minister HK Patil, KIADB officials and other departments are expected to attend. Protesters hope the dialogue will halt the proposed project.
