Tejashwi Yadav has been attacking Nitish Kumar over unemployment and other issues.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who is contesting the Bihar elections as the face of the Grand Alliance with the Congress and Left parties, this morning targetted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, alleging that his government was involved in over 60 scams of over Rs 30,000 crore. As a proof of his claim, the 31-year-old RJD leader - son of ex-chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav- shared a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi listing over 30 scams linked to the state government.
"Under respected Nitish Kumar ji, over 60 scams of over 30,000 crore have happened. Of these, 33 were listed by PM Modi five years back...You can listen for yourself," Tejashwi Yadav tweeted in Hindi this morning, adding on to the scams mentioned by PM Modi.
"The people of Bihar know... I want to remind the younger generation...," PM Modi is heard saying in the video shared by the RJD leader as he talks about over 30 scams linked to the state government - ranging from engineering colleges, purchase of medicines, sale of liquor, mid-day meals among others. However, it's not clear where PM Modi is speaking and which government he is talking about.
This month, PM Modi has joined Nitish Kumar - the NDA's chief ministerial candidate - twice at the election rallies in Bihar where voting began for the three-phased elections on October 28. The second phase will be held on November 3 and the last phase on November 7; votes will be counted on November 10.
On Wednesday, PM Modi had hit out at Mr Yadav, calling him "Jungle Raj ka Yuvraj", in what was seen to be the most direct yet in the campaign for Bihar. It was interpreted by the opposition camp as a sign of anxiety in the BJP, which rules the state in a coalition with Nitish Kumar.
However, the latest reference by the RJD to his comments on Nitish Kumar adds to the series of remarks by the Prime Minister against Nitish Kumar in the past, which are being used by the opposition amid a fierce campaign.
"After centuries of penance, finally a grand Ram Temple is being built in Ayodhya. Those in politics who used to ask us for a tareekh (date), they are compelled to applaud. This is the identity of the BJP, the NDA - what we say, we do," the Prime Minister said earlier this week. His comments, many said, raised memories of Nitish Kumar's criticism of the BJP - over the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya - in 2015, when he was still partnering Lalu Yadav and the Congress.
Last week at another joint rally, the PM's comments on Article 370 were seen by Nitish Kumar's rivals Tejashwi Yadav and Chirag Paswan as a dig at him.