Not the People’s Mandate: Sharad Yadav Slams Nitish-BJP Alliance
In a series of tweets, Yadav took down the ruling party (and his own party’s new allies in Bihar).
Talking about Nitish Kumar’s political U-turn for the first time, senior Janata Dal United (JDU) leader Sharad Yadav said that he didn’t agree with the decision in Bihar. “The mandate by the people was not for this,” he said.
“Breaking the people’s trust is wrong, people had voted for the coalition. (Janta se karar todna sabse badi cheez hai, logon ne mahagatbandhan ko vote diya tha),” he further said.
Reacting to the developments, BJP President Amit Shah said, “We have not broken any party in Bihar, it is Nitish ji who ended the alliance and resigned”. Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that Sharad Yadav is not interested in Bihar's politics and called him restless.
The Congress, on 31 July, welcomed RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's intention to invite Yadav to take part in the fight against the BJP and Kumar.
"News has come from various mediums of Sharad Yadav being unhappy with what Nitish Kumar has done. Any self-respected person would be unhappy with the same. Lalu Yadav's statement is worth welcoming. If he (Lalu) has plans to unite different forces against BJP, which has communal mentality and plays divisive politics then are is welcoming," Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit told ANI.
Earlier on Sunday, he made his disapproval apparent by his vitriolic attack on the Narendra Modi government. In a series of tweets, Yadav took down the ruling party (and his own party’s new allies in Bihar), and its governance at the Centre.
His latest tweet, on Sunday morning, only hours after he had been invited by Kumar’s former ally and new nemesis, Lalu Prasad Yadav, to form a front against the BJP, raked up demonetisation and corruption.
His attack on Twitter began on Friday, where he questioned the success of key government developmental schemes.
In a shocking announcement on Wednesday, Kumar resigned from the post of Chief Minister, only to be sworn in again the following day, but this time with a new ally in BJP, effectively dissolving the mahagathbandhan in the state. Yadav registered his discontent by giving the swearing-in ceremony a skip.
The grand alliance had been strained for a while over a political standoff between leaders of the two key factions, Kumar and Lalu, over the latter’s son, Tejashwi’s future in Kumar’s government.
(We all love to express ourselves, but how often do we do it in our mother tongue? Here's your chance! This Independence Day, khul ke bol with BOL – Love your Bhasha. Sing, write, perform, spew poetry – whatever you like – in your mother tongue. Send us your BOL atbol@thequint.com or WhatsApp it to 9910181818.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)