Delhi voters have shown the way by opting for "real nationalism" and the electorate in Bihar should emulate them to vote out Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who has no qualms in taking off his "secular veil" on issues such as the CAA, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said on Sunday, 16 February.
He said the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) was ready to take on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) against its "divisive agenda and 15 years of misrule" in the assembly polls.
"Nitish Kumar has never criticised the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), NPR (National Population Register) and the NRC (National Register for Citizens). He didn't utter even a single word on the recent reservation issue. He doesn't have any courage to criticise any of the BJP's policies," the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly said.
While the Janata Dal (United) helped the Bharatiya Janata Party in getting the citizenship bill passed in Parliament, Kumar only said his government will not implement the NRC in the state, Yadav said.
The whole exercise of the CAA, NPR and the NRC is for dividing and polarising the nation on religious lines for political gains and Kumar has no qualms in shunning his "secular veil to show his true colours", Yadav alleged.
Talking about the Delhi polls won by the Aam Aadmi Party comprehensively, Yadav said the message was loud and clear, not only for the Bihar polls but also for the whole nation that if the government works for necessary amenities and social and financial security, then no diversion will work.
"Welfare of the citizens is real nationalism. Dividing people on communal lines is proving catastrophic for the nation. Youth is on the streets fighting, lynching and abusing. Union ministers are pushing the citizens to indulge in violence against those who are asking questions of the government," the RJD leader said.
Union ministers are delivering veiled "incendiary and communal" speeches against citizens who are protesting, he said.
Voters of Delhi have shown the nation the right path and now it is up to the people of Bihar and the whole country to emulate them, the former Bihar deputy chief minister said.
Delhi elections were assembly polls which should be fought on local and state-level issues, but the way the BJP is trying to rake up national issues every time sets a "very dangerous precedent", Yadav said.
For 15 years in power, Nitish Kumar kept on terming his rule as "sushasan (good governance) and misused state exchequer for filling the coffers of a few obliging media houses to project his image", he alleged.
"He (Kumar) has destroyed the education system, health services are in ICU, law and order has completely collapsed, his own MLAs, MPs, Union ministers are questioning the deteriorating law and order, farmers are dejected...And with all these failures he has failed the aspirational citizens of Bihar," Yadav alleged.
"In such a gloomy situation, the only option that this government has is to play communal politics. And Nitish Kumar will ride the same communal bus, but this time communal and divisive politics will not bear any fruit," he asserted.
"Nitish Kumar's 15-year rule had been totally directionless and visionless. He failed to attract a single major investor or any industry worth mentioning. All he could offer to the young people was temporary contract jobs with exploitative fixed salaries," Yadav alleged.
"For this huge monumental failure of his, he should tender an unconditional apology to the people of Bihar and resign from politics," he said.
A concerted effort was needed in a planned and systematic manner to create necessary industrial infrastructure and ecosystem to attract large scale investments in the state, he said.
"If voted to power, I will take it upon myself to approach industrial houses and create confidence in them about the infrastructure and environment that will be provided by my government for them," he said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal's relations with Kumar turned bitter after he left the RJD-led grand alliance in July 2017 and joined hands with the BJP to form the government in Bihar.
"Bihar has a lot of scope in food processing and agriculture-based industries. Apart from them, knowledge process outsourcing, business process outsourcing and software development and hardware manufacturing industries also have a lot of potential," Yadav said.
With curtains coming down on the Delhi Assembly polls, all eyes are now on Bihar elections, slated for October and November this year.
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