Patna: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday charged that the ruling BJP-JD(U) alliance in Bihar has become a "trouble engine" instead of the "double engine" that had promised to propel the state towards progress.
The leader of the opposition cited recent incidents of crime to buttress the point that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had become tired and helpless after being in power for a decade and a half, while the BJP was unable to make a difference despite having more MLAs and two Deputy CMs for the first time in the state's history.
Mr Yadav made the remarks against Mr Kumar in the backdrop of his heated exchange with journalists in Patna on Friday when they had sought to nettle him on the inability of the police to crack a high profile murder case.
"I am going to Saran tomorrow where I will visit the ancestral residence of Rupesh Kumar Singh (murdered Indigo airlines station manager). His family members evidently have lost faith in the state government and are demanding a CBI inquiry. And the CM is busy holding the brief for the police, which has not been able to crack the case even after 72 hours," said Mr Yadav.
The former Deputy CM, who was addressing a press conference, also distributed copies of a stinging letter he has shot off to Mr Kumar.
"Please crackdown on crime in Bihar, else you will never be forgiven by its people... In the pages of history you will not find a space even in the footnotes," Mr Yadav has said in the blistering note.
Replying to a query, the RJD leader said that he was waiting for the schedule for the upcoming budget session of the assembly, following which he will draw up the itinerary for the proposed state-wide ''Dhanyawad Yatra'' (thanksgiving tour).
He reiterated his opposition to the proposed truncation of the session to not more than a week.
"The government wants to shorten the session in the name of COVID-19 vaccination. Are MLAs going to administer the shots?" he asked.
"Surely, the government is wary of being cornered by the legislators, especially from the opposition, on the floor of the House on issues related to governance," said Mr Yadav who has previously announced a boycott of the assembly session if it was curtailed.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)