Key Points
Tejashwi challenges Nitish Kumar's political legacy
Disputes Kumar's claim about helping Lalu Prasad
Highlights JDU's diminishing political relevance
Signals intense pre-election political battle
The sharp response of Tejashwi Yadav came a day after Nitish Kumar claimed that he helped Lalu Prasad Yadav become CM in 1990.
Tejashwi called it misleading, "I am highly surprised that he has made such a statement inside the Bihar Assembly. It was highly misleading and way beyond the truth. Nitish Kumar should remember that when my father was twice an MLA and once an MP, he (Nitish) was nothing. My father has made many Prime Ministers of the country."
He mocked Nitish Kumar's statement, emphasising that JDU is now the third-largest party in Bihar. "I made Nitish Kumar the CM twice, that is why JDU is still alive today,"
Yadav said while indicating towards the 2015 Assembly elections and Nitish Kumar's separation from BJP in 2022.
Taking a swipe at Nitish Kumar, he said, "The system in Bihar is sick and worn out. There are retired officers and a tired Chief Minister in the state who are running the government. If he would remain for some more time, he would make the entire state sick."
A day earlier, during a Bihar Assembly session, Nitish Kumar had said: "I was the one who made Lalu Prasad Yadav the Chief Minister in 1990, even when people from his own caste (Yadav) opposed him."
He dismissed Tejashwi Yadav's attacks, calling him a "child" and said that he had no knowledge of the past. Kumar said that there was no road, no hospital, no infrastructure in Bihar.
When he came to power in 2005, he took several initiatives to put Bihar on the path of progress. This verbal clash highlights the deep-rooted rivalry between Nitish Kumar and the Yadav family.
As Bihar gears up for Assembly elections, this political tug-of-war could shape alliances and voter sentiments in the state.
