Tejashwi slams NDA over Bihar bandh call in protest against 'abuse' hurled at PM's mother

Patna: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday charged the BJP-led NDA with the practice of "impure and insincere politics" by calling for a Bihar bandh in protest against alleged abuse hurled at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's late mother during the Congress' "Voter Adhikar Yatra".

The former Bihar deputy chief minister, who was with Rahul Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, during the fortnight-long yatra, responded to questions from journalists about the five-hour-long bandh called on Thursday.

"They are in power and yet they are calling a bandh", the RJD leader remarked sarcastically, claiming, "the BJP is rattled by the success of our yatra that covered a distance of more than 1,300 kilometres across 25 districts".

"The bandh will only force the closure of schools for the day. But it happens on days when the PM comes to Bihar. So, the NDA must be fine with it," said Yadav, who is now the leader of the opposition in the state assembly.

The women's wings of NDA constituents had on Tuesday called for a five-hour bandh in Bihar on September 4 to protest against the alleged abuse hurled at PM's late mother during the yatra in the state recently.

The bandh will be in effect from 7 am to noon on Thursday, he said, adding that the general public will face minimal inconveniences.

Emergency services will be exempted from the purview of the bandh.

Yadav also alleged that the emotional outburst of the PM a day ago over last week's incident at Darbhanga was an example of "impure and insincere" politics.

"After that unfortunate incident, the PM had gone abroad. We have seen pictures and photos of him smiling and laughing with foreign dignitaries. But as soon as he returned home, he decided it was time to weep," said Yadav.

The RJD leader also alleged, "Where were the PM's sensibilities while making vulgar jibes like a girlfriend worth Rs 50 crore? He had also said so many deplorable things about Sonia Gandhi and made a below-the-belt remark on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's DNA. His party MLAs have hurled choicest abuses at me and my party colleagues on the floor of the assembly."

He also said nobody condones the insult to anybody's mother, but the "BJP has a lot to answer for the issue of crude behaviour in public".

Expletives were screamed into the microphone from a podium on the outskirts of Darbhanga, on a day the Yatra had passed through the north Bihar town.

The accused, a 25-year-old local resident, has been arrested.

The Congress-led INDIA bloc maintained that he was not a member of any of the constituent parties.