Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Friday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other Opposition leaders in Delhi and said Nitish Kumar's decision to sever ties with NDA in the state was "a timely slap to BJP". Speaking to the media after meeting Sonia Gandhi, Tejashwi said people were tired of unemployment, inflation and religious clashes.
"I met the primary leadership in Delhi -- Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Sonia Gandhi. Everyone congratulated us, welcomed Nitish Kumar's governemnt," ANI quoted the RJD leader as saying.
"This govt will work with strength, it is public's govt. Nitish Kumar's decision is a timely slap to BJP. Except for BJP, all political parties are one in Bihar Assembly. This will be now seen across country," the younger son of former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav said.
Yadav's visit to Delhi holds significance ahead of the government's floor test to prove majority in the Bihar Legislative Assembly on August 24 and finalisation of the names of ministers to be inducted into the Cabinet.
On joining hands with Nitish Kumar despite JD(U) ditching the Grand Alliance in 2017, Tejashwi said both JD(U) and RJD were from the "same home with socialist beliefs". He also blamed the BJP for ruining constitutional institutions like CBI, ED and IT.
"Our constitutional institutions - CBI, ED, IT - are being ruined one by one. Their condition is worse than a police station," Tejashwi said.
"Who are they trying to scare? Biharis won't be scared. We're 'tikaau', not 'bikaau'...We blamed Nitish ji and vice versa, but we are from the same home with socialist beliefs. Fights happen in every household, but we welcome Nitish ji's decision looking at the country's situation," he further said.
In an interview with ANI, Tejashwi Yadav asserted that the RJD-JD(U) government would fulfil the aspirations of the youth soon while lashing out at the BJP for making bogus claims on unemployment.
"Since the time the Mahagathbandhan decided to come together, we have begun talking about employment, about the future of the youth. On the contrary, when BJP was in power, only Hindu-Muslim and Mandir-Masjid were the issues discussed. Poison was being sown in society," Tejashwi Yadav told ANI.
"Forget providing 19 lakh jobs to the people of Bihar, they (BJP) have not even provided 19 jobs. In the country, they promised to provide over 2 crore jobs to the people. They have not even provided close to 80 lakh jobs till now," Yadav said.
On Tuesday, Nitish Kumar broke his alliance with the BJP for the second time in eight years before joining hands with the 'Mahagathbandhan', which constitutes of the RJD, Congress and Left parties. The Grand Alliance also has the support of HAM, which has four MLAs in the Assembly.