Nitish Kumar is BJP's 'Chunavi dulha', not CM choice: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday claimed the BJP was "using" JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar to sail through the Bihar Assembly election, and he won't be allowed to remain chief minister after the polls.
Asserting that Bihar is demanding a change and wants to move towards a better and prosperous future, he claimed that RJD's Tejashwi Yadav is going to become the chief minister after the Mahagathbandhan wins the polls.
Taking a swipe at Nitish Kumar while talking to reporters in Ghazipur, Yadav said, "He is definitely the BJP's 'Chunavi dulha', but for the post (of CM) he is not the 'dulha' (groom)."
"The BJP, under a conspiracy, is using Nitish Kumar. The INDIA bloc was making him the prime ministerial face. Today, he is only a face for the sake of elections," he remarked.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister further said, "I am telling you again, the people of Bihar know everything. Even leaders from the opposition platforms are saying that Nitish Kumar has been brought only for election purposes."
Yadav predicted the BJP would not make Kumar the chief minister after the elections. "You can ask on what basis I'm saying this. Look at what happened in Maharashtra and other states. Those who were projected as faces before elections were not made chief ministers later. The same will happen in Bihar too," he claimed.
Extending his full support to RLD leader Tejashwi Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief said, "Tejashwi Yadav is going to become the chief minister. We are all in his support. And not only are we supporting him, but we are also ready to help in running the government in every possible way -- to guide him and assist wherever needed."
Accusing the Election Commission of not acting impartially, he said the BJP wanted to do a scam in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
"The Election Commission does not act impartially. It is the responsibility of the EC to maintain an accurate voter list and ensure that every vote is cast. But do you really see impartiality? Look at any bypoll in Uttar Pradesh or even the general election -- the EC acts with bias, and that's why such allegations arise,” he said.
"The BJP wants to commit a scam in SIR. Check the list of booth-level officers if there is even one name from the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) community.
"There is a large number of 'Pidit' (suffering), 'Dukhi' (unhappy) and 'Apmanit' (humiliated), and the BJP is scared of them. The BJP cannot fight against the unity and strength of the PDA," Akhilesh Yadav added.
Polling in Bihar will be held on November 6 and 11, and results will be announced on November 14. The opposition Mahagathbandhan alliance, which has the RJD, Congress and Left parties as the main constituents, has declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav its chief ministerial candidate for the Bihar polls.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Odisha: BJD, Congress demand rollback of fuel price hike
Bhubaneswar (PTI): The opposition BJD and Congress on Friday demanded an immediate rollback of the fuel price hike, accusing the ruling BJP of adopting a "double standard" on the issue of GST on petrol and diesel.
The women's wing of the Congress staged a demonstration near a fuel station in Bhubaneswar, protesting the increase of Rs 3 per litre in petrol and diesel prices.
BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said the BJP had demanded that petrol and diesel be brought under the GST regime when it was in the opposition in the state, but was now taking a contradictory stand after coming to power.
"This is the time for the BJP to honour its earlier commitments and bring petrol and diesel under GST after withdrawing VAT. The party said one thing while in opposition, but after assuming power, it is misleading the people with a different stance," he alleged.
In a statement, the BJD claimed that fuel prices were not reduced even when international crude oil prices had fallen below USD 60 per barrel, allowing oil companies to earn massive profits at the expense of consumers.
"Now, when crude oil prices are rising, the BJP government has increased fuel prices by Rs 3 per litre to protect the profits of oil companies. This exposes the true character of the BJP," it alleged.
Ipsita Sahu, president of the Biju Chhatra Janata Dal, said the Centre should explain "under what pressure" it was being compelled to avoid cheaper fuel imports from Russia.
Meanwhile, Mahila Congress activists marched from the party's state headquarters to a fuel station in the Unit-2 area of Bhubaneswar, demanding rollback of the hike in petrol, diesel, commercial LPG and CNG prices.
As part of the protest, women activists brought two-wheelers without petrol to symbolically highlight the burden of rising fuel costs.
District Mahila Congress president Shriya Mohanty claimed the fuel price hike exposed the real nature of the BJP government.
"During the Manmohan Singh government in 2014, diesel was sold at Rs 55 per litre and petrol at Rs 70 per litre," she claimed.
