Weeks after Janata Dal (United) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) to form a BJP-led NDA government in Bihar, former Deputy CM and Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav is now all set to embark on a 10-day Jan Vishwas Yatra (people’s trust journey) beginning on February 20 from Muzaffarpur in the northern part of the State and is scheduled to end on February 29.
During his yatra, Mr. Yadav would cover all 38 districts of Bihar and address 32 public meetings in which he is expected to highlight achievements of the previous mahagathbandhan (grand coalition) government in which the RJD was the principal ruling ally with the Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)], the Congress and three Left parties.
Deputy Chief Minister and State BJP president Samrat Choudhary on Monday, however, launched a sharp attack on Mr. Yadav’s proposed yatra saying that he should “come out with loot yatra instead of vishwas yatra”. “He [Tejashwi Yadav] should come out with a ‘loot yatra’, instead of jan vishwas yatra. He should first address the corruption allegations against him and his family members”, Mr. Choudhary told media persons on Monday.
After Mr. Kumar severed ties with the RJD-led regime on January 28 to form an NDA government headed by the BJP, Mr. Yadav who was Deputy Chief Minister in the previous regime, became Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly.
With his exit from power in the State and the Lok Sabha election schedule set to be announced soon, Mr. Yadav decided to take out the Jan Vishwas Yatra similar to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which recently crossed Bihar in its second leg of the campaign. Incidentally, Mr. Yadav accompanied the Congress leader during the yatra on February 15 in Sasaram.
Yatra agenda
Mr. Yadav is likely to highlight achievements of the previous government in public meetings during his 10-day yatra across the State. The RJD leader is scheduled to address as many as 32 public meetings covering all 38 districts in his yatra that will begin from Sakri in Muzaffarpur district.
“Everyday, he [Mr. Yadav] is likely to address three to four public meetings,” said a senior RJD leader preferring anonymity. Mr. Yadav is scheduled to wrap up his proposed yatra from Katihar, Bhagalpur and Jamui districts on February 29. “...in the last 17-months [of the mahagathbandhan government], we gave more than four lakh government jobs and the process of giving three lakh more jobs was initiated by me. It will definitely be given to youths,” Mr. Yadav said on Sunday in a social media post.
In August 2022, the JD(U) had aligned with the RJD, the Congress and three Left parties to form the mahagathbandhan government and it was during this dispensation that several lakh jobs were given to youths of the State. Mr. Nitish Kumar parted ways with the RJD on January 28 this year and again joined hands with the BJP to form an NDA government.
“Now, the RJD wants to give an impression among people of the State that it was Tejashwi Yadav who had provided jobs, mostly government school teachers but the fact was our leader Nitish Kumar was the Chief Minister of the State and he had distributed the appointment papers to jobless youths,” a JD(U) leader who was also a Minister in the previous mahagathbandhan Cabinet told The Hindu over phone, preferring anonymity. But a senior RJD leader countered him, saying: “Why Mr. Kumar had not given such large number of appointment leaders earlier when he was in power along with BJP? In fact, Mr. Kumar had publicly denounced Mr. Yadav over such large number of appointments.”
Recently, while addressing a public meeting in Rohtas along with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Mr. Yadav said: “When I first promised 10 lakh jobs, he [Nitish Kumar] used to mock me and ask if I would use my father’s money to pay salaries? But we made the tired Chief Minister to take significant steps towards job creation”. However, Mr. Kumar had recently said in the State Assembly that “his government has already provided five lakh jobs and would give over four lakh jobs more to youths”.
Targeting RJD Ministers
The present NDA government alleged that “irregularities done in several departments (headed by RJD ministers) in mahagathbandhan regime will be reviewed” and two days back, the government began reviewing the alleged “irregularities” in departments like Health, Road Construction, Urban Development and Housing, Mines and Geology and Public Health and Engineering.
“Why probe into all these departments held by RJD ministers?. The Chief Minister should order investigation into works done by all departments and more in the ambitious three agricultural road maps of the state,” former Agricultural Minister and RJD MLA Sudhakar Singh said. Mr. Singh was earlier forced to resign from his ministerial post during the mahagathbandhan government after he had flagged irregularities in his department.
Taking potshots over Mr. Yadav’s proposed yatra, poll strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor said on Sunday: “He [Mr. Yadav] is embarking on the Jan Vishwas Yatra when he has broken people’s trust most. People of the State cannot be cheated again and again”.
