Patna: The building construction department has told the Patna district administration to evict leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav from the 5 Deshratna Marg bungalow that he uses as his office, and to use force if need be.
Department sources said the letter was issued on Friday.
Last month, Patna High Court had ruled in favour of the state on government bungalow allotments, after which the building construction department wrote to all RJD leaders who were ministers in the Grand Alliance government to vacate their bungalows as soon as possible. However, except Tejashwi's elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav and former finance minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui, no former minister of the RJD has yet vacated his bungalow.
"I was allotted the 5 Deshratna Marg bungalow as a minister, not as deputy chief minister," Tejashwi told The Telegraph. "It was tradition when a minister becomes the leader of Opposition, the same residence is given to him. This is what happened in the case of Sushil Kumar Modi, Nand Kishore Yadav and Prem Kumar. Why is the rule being changed in my case?"
As per the new rule, 5 Deshratna Marg has been allotted to the deputy chief minister. Tejashwi declared that deputy CM is not a constitutional post.
Tejashwi has written to Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary, asking him to intervene and demanding to see the document that says that once a minister becomes leader of Opposition he cannot stay on in the same bungalow.
"Government is changing the rule as per their own convenience and with ill intention," Tejashwi alleged. "In the letter which I have received it is written that I have illegally occupied the bungalow. Is the leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly an illegal post?"
Tejashwi said he has written to chief minister Nitish Kumar, building construction minister Maheshwar Hazari and department principal secretary Chanchal Kumar.
RJD spokesperson and MLA Shakti Yadav fumed at the department order.
"Tejashwiji is not an ordinary leader, he is leader of Opposition," Shakti said.
"The notice is undemocratic and shows the dictatorship of Nitish Kumar. I also want to add that it is possible that Nitishji may not be aware the way he was not aware about the security cover recall from 10 Circular Road (where Tejashwi lives with his brother and mother). However, if he is fully aware then it shows his arrogance and dictator-like attitude."