Tejashwi accuses Bihar NDA leaders of pursuing casteism, dynastic politics

Yadav alleged the ruling alliance leaders no longer have the right to speak about dynastic politics, adding that the Prime Minister should see for himself the prevalence of dynastic politics among NDA allies. He further alleged that portfolios were distributed in the Bihar cabinet by spelling out caste names, and that representation of Muslims has been reduced abysmally.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday charged the ruling NDA with practising dynastic politics and casteism in the state. The Leader of the opposition in the Bihar Assembly also alleged that the NDA government formed after the 2025 elections has been plagued with ''instability'' and ''inaction.'' ''Prime Minister Narendra Modi used to call me a prince. However, in the recently formed cabinet, there are at least 17 ministers who are products of dynastic politics,'' claimed Yadav, the younger son of RJD president Lalu Prasad. Sons of three former CMs have been made ministers in the present cabinet, he added, indicating that dynastic politics is practised by the ruling NDA. He was referring to Nishant Kumar, Santosh Kumar Suman and Nitish Mishra, sons of Nitish Kumar, Jitan Ram Manjhi and Jagganath Mishra, respectively. Sons of Nitish Kumar and Upendra Kushwaha have been made ministers without even fighting elections, Yadav added. ''Note it down, in the near future, you will see sons of the two incumbent Deputy CMs entering active politics as well,'' he asserted. Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav, both JD(U) leaders. Yadav alleged the ruling alliance leaders no longer have the right to speak about dynastic politics, adding that ''the Prime Minister should see for himself the prevalence of dynastic politics among NDA allies.'' He further alleged that portfolios were distributed in the Bihar cabinet by spelling out caste names, and that representation of Muslims has been reduced abysmally. ''One can see leaders like Vijay Kumar Sinha, deputy chief minister in the previous cabinet, falling victim to caste politics. He has been significantly reduced in terms of seniority because he did not fit into the caste equation. During the RJD rule, there used to be 7-8 Muslim ministers, but now their number is far and few between,'' Yadav said. He said that while BJP leaders raise hue and cry around women's reservation, they did not include enough women ministers in the cabinet. ''Why did they not keep 33 per cent women ministers in the cabinet, or even half of it? Among the women who have been made ministers, most are products of dynastic politics,'' the RJD leader claimed. Yadav alleged that the NDA government is engaged in media management and public relations (PR) exercises, at the cost of ignoring crucial public works. ''In the last six months, we have seen two chief ministers and the government being formed twice, while no tangible work has been done on the ground. Only PR and media management work is being done by the government,'' he alleged. Yadav asserted that bulldozers will be run, homes of opposition leaders will be vacated, and encounters will be carried out to feed the government's ''reel culture''. ''Bihar is lagging on all fronts, but the government's interest is not in governing the state, but in distributing ministeries and portfolios,'' he said. Taking a dig at Nitish Kumar, who resigned from the CM post to pave the way for a BJP chief minister, Yadav sarcastically said that Kumar must be happy to see that ''those worshipping murderers of Gandhi are ruling the state.'' In a veiled rebuke to Congress, he said that only regional parties can defeat the BJP. ''We are going to reform our party organisation from scratch, find principled workers, and raise the issues of people through them,'' Yadav said.