Tejashwi demands action against Bihar Minister Jibesh Kumar for 'abusing', 'assaulting' journalist

Patna, Sep 15 (PTI) RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday demanded action against BJP leader and Bihar Minister Jibesh Kumar for allegedly abusing and assaulting a journalist for asking questions in Darbhanga district recently.

Yadav, the leader of opposition in Bihar Assembly, also referred to a recent Rajasthan court order in which Kumar, the MLA from Jale constituency in Darbhanga, was allegedly held guilty of involvement in the manufacture of spurious medicines.

He demanded that the minister be sacked or asked to resign from the Nitish Kumar cabinet in light of the order.

Talking to reporters, Yadav said, "PM Narendra Modi is coming to Bihar today. I hope action will be taken against Kumar, who abused and assaulted a journalist for asking questions related to his constituency. The minister also hurled abuses at the mother and sisters of the scribe. But no FIR has been registered against him by police. We demand registration of an FIR against Kumar and strict action against him".

He added, "The journalist is also a son or brother of someone. He was thrashed. I have never seen a minister using such abuses against a journalist and then beating him up. What kind of administration is this? I want to ask both the deputy CMs and the PM if the law is equal for everybody, then why has no FIR been registered against the minister?" Yadav also showed a purported video of the minister shouting at the journalist.

On the Rajasthan court order, Yadav said, "The BJP leader continues in the Nitish Kumar cabinet despite the opposition’s demand that he be sacked or asked to resign in the wake of the court ruling." Notably, Kumar is one of the directors of a drug company recently indicted by the Rajsamand court. While the court did not award a prison sentence, it placed the Bihar minister under probation for a specified period. PTI PKD MNB