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.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
