'Betrayal of people's mandate': Tejashwi on Nitish's Rajya Sabha entry

Patna, Mar 5 (PTI) RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to enter the Rajya Sabha was a "betrayal" of the people's mandate.

Yadav, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, alleged the BJP has always been opposed to Dalits and OBCs, and with Kumar leaving the CM's post, it will seek to implement its agenda in the socialist stronghold.

"The BJP has done a Maharashtra in Bihar," he said.

"We have been saying from the very beginning that the BJP will not let Nitish Kumar remain the chief minister after the elections. This is exactly what has happened. This development is against the mandate of the people and amounts to a betrayal of it," he said.

Alleging that the BJP had "hijacked" Kumar, Yadav said that was the reason the veteran leader was now moving to the Rajya Sabha.

"BJP is against OBCs and Dalits. They never want a leader from these communities to occupy the top post. They want a chief minister who will function like a rubber stamp for the top BJP leadership," he alleged.

"I had said -- 'Nitish ji ko ghoda toh chadhaya hai dulha banake, lekin phera kisi aur ke saath dila raha hai' (They made Nitish Kumar mount the horse like a groom, but are getting someone else to take the wedding vows)," he added.

Kumar, the state's longest-serving chief minister, filed nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls, paving the way for the first BJP-led government in the state. PTI PKD SOM