Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav Hold Joint Rally In Support of Alliance

Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav Hold Joint Rally In Support of Alliance: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav addressed a joint political rally on Friday, lashing out at the BJP. This is the first rally the two have held together since patching up nearly four months ago.

The occasion was the campaign for the by-election to the Kurhani assembly segment, called because of the disqualification of Anil Sahani, the MLA belonging to Mr Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

In their speeches, both leaders attacked the BJP, with Mr Kumar saying that those who could not fulfil their promises were now making “false” claims.” The BJP had promised to provide employment to two crore people every year. But after coming to power, they are saying that only those who are already employed will get benefits,” he said.

Mr Yadav accused the BJP of “destroying” institutions and “usurping” power. “They claimed they would deposit Rs 15 lakh in every account and give employment to everyone. But after coming to power, they destroyed all institutions and usurped power,” he said. The by-election in Kurhani is scheduled for Dec 5.

“Nothing happens in their camp except prachaar-prasaar (propaganda). They did not agree to our demand for a special status category. Had it been accepted Bihar would have progressed at an even greater speed,” said Mr Kumar, adding “I now feel that I am back home (puraani jagah par laut aaye hain). We shall now work together”.

“Journalists are told not to report our accomplishments because of pressure from above… Ours is a government that works for all and does not view the society through a divisive prism of Hindu versus Muslim,” said Mr Kumar.

Mr Kumar addressed the demonstration, saying, “I saw some job seekers here holding placards. They seem to have gone away. I want to tell all such people that their grievances would be squarely addressed. We are refraining from making a concrete announcement here because the model code of conduct comes in the way.”

The JD(U) candidate is locked in a straight contest with BJP’s Kedar Gupta. Voting is scheduled on December 5 and results will be out on December 8.