Rahul Gandhi not sole opposition PM candidate: Tejashwi Yadav
Patna, July 24 : RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday said that Congress President Rahul Gandhi is not the only leader from the opposition in the race for the Prime Minister's post.
"All the opposition parties will sit together to decide the name of the Prime Ministerial candidate. Rahul Gandhi is not the only leader in the race for it," the former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister said here.
"There are other opposition leaders like (West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee, (Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister) Chandrababu Naidu, (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar and (BSP leader) Mayawati," he said.
Tejashwi Yadav made it clear that he and his Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) would support anyone who is named the Prime Ministerial candidate by a united opposition.
"Our main concern is that opposition parties will name a leader who will save the Constitution. Rahul Gandhi may be that leader."
"Rahul Gandhi has to unite all non-BJP parties for a strong grand alliance," he added, adding that the Congress had a pan-India presence.
The RJD leader, who heads the opposition in the Bihar Assembly, said the Prime Ministerial post was not an issue and there were "several real issues that matter for the country".
The RJD is a major ally of the Congress and Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav have always strongly backed Rahul Gandhi.
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Unruly scenes witnessed in Punjab Assembly
Chandigarh (PTI): The Punjab Assembly on Friday witnessed high drama on Friday after Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira made an allegedly objectionable remark against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during an intense argument over the alleged use of mobile phone in the house by the legislator.
During the one-day special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here, Mann accused Khaira of using a mobile phone when Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was reading out an official resolution on the revision of wages.
After rising from his seat, the chief minister pointed to the speaker, claiming that Khaira is busy on his mobile phone and urged him to ask the Congress MLA what Sandhwan had said about the resolution.
The speaker then asked Khaira to maintain order in the house and listen to the resolution carefully.
Mann then asked Khaira, "Why don't you go out and then use it (mobile phone)," which led to a strong verbal altercation during which the opposition MLA hurled an accusation against the chief minister. Meanwhile, the speaker appealed for order and insisted that the chair be addressed.
However, both Mann and Khaira continued arguing and could be seen pointing fingers at each other as the proceedings of the house were disrupted.
The AAP MLAs also rose from their seats with Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema condemning Khaira for his conduct and demanded action against him.
Cheema further alleged that Khaira "always tries to disturb the house" as he spoke about his conduct in the assembly.
The incident occurred as an official resolution on the revision of wages was presented at the special session by Labour Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond who said it paid homage to labourers on the International Workers' Day.
"Workers are the axis of construction of the nation, the community, the state and society. Every construction project succeeds only through their blood and sweat," the resolution read.
As per the resolution, "The base rate of minimum wages for the working class in Punjab was last revised in the year 2012. Although the dearness allowance has continued to increase since 2012, there has been no increase in the base rate of minimum wages.
On this sacred occasion of May Day, in this special session of the legislative assembly, this house proposes to revise and increase the minimum wages of labourers and strongly recommends to the government to take a decision regarding the increase of minimum wages for workers, so that the contributions of the workers can be acknowledged." PRK
