Tejashwi again: Forgive us for our past mistakes
People already punished us by keeping us out of govt for 15 years
›
Although I was not part of the government, I seek forgiveness if our government made some mistakes during its 15-year rule. I was very young then and I do not know much about it. TEJASHWI YADAV, Leader of Opposition
PATNA: Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, used the 24th Foundation Day of the RJD on Sunday to issue another apology for “mistakes committed during his party’s 15-year-rule” even as the party organised five-km cycle rally to protest continuous hike in diesel and petrol prices.
This is the second appeal for forgiveness by Yadav within three days, the earlier being two days back when he was speaking at the joining ceremony of some leaders.
“Although I was not part of the government, I seek forgiveness if our government made some mistakes during its 15-year rule. I was very young then and I do not know much about it. If some mistakes were committed, the people had already punished us by keeping us out of government for 15 years,” he said while addressing party workers at RJD office.
Yadav, aware of the dissension brewing in the party and the grand alliance, asked all to be patient. “Rise above personal gains and think about party. We have to make sacrifices in the larger interest of the party,” he said.
The RJD leader alleged his father Lalu Prasad has become a “victim of conspiracy”. “Lalu Prasad ushered in social justice and nobody can deny it. He gave voice to poor, downtrodden, Dalits, backwards. Today Laluji is a thought. Country needs him,” he said.
In a bid to woo youths, he promised to open industries for job creation once his party comes to power.
Though the NDA leaders took a dig at the RJD’s foundation day, calling it a “party of family”, some senior NDA leaders feel that Tejashwi issuing apology should not be taken lightly. “He is trying to go beyond his traditional vote bank of the RJD. He is saying people have already punished his party for mistakes and is seeking a chance. We should not take chances,” said a senior NDA leader and a former union minister.
The BJP, however, reacted on expected lines. “Wishes to RJD, a party of one family. It would have been better had the party vowed to make it democratic,” said state BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand.
“Their past is full of stains. It is an organisation which does not believe beyond its family. The party is disintegrating. It should rethink its programmes and policies,” said JD (U) spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan.
The BJP and JD(U) have often called the RJJD reign as ‘jungle raj’. Tejashwi, on the other hand, has been seeking to corner the ruling alliance on “unabated migration, unemployment and other unfulfilled promises” during 15 years of Nitish Kumar’s rule.