For First Yatra After Breakup, Tejashwi Yadav Goes Where Nitish Kumar Did

Patna: For his first ever political yatra, Tejashwi Yadav has borrowed from his former boss Nitish Kumar, who the campaign aims to attack for what the 28-year-old son of Lalu Yadav calls an "unholy alliance" with the BJP.

Tejashwi will begin the yatra next Wednesday, August 9, from Bihar's Champaran, the starting point of all yatras that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has launched. He is said to be undecided yet whether he will begin from the West Champaran district headquarters of Bettiah or from Bhitiharwah, the famous ashram where Mahatma Gandhi began his Champaran Satyagraha in 1917.

The former Bihar deputy chief minister has said he will begin by "seeking forgiveness" for accompanying Nitish Kumar on his last yatra in April this year. He will travel across the state for a fortnight - telling people, he said, about how Nitish Kumar "betrayed the mandate of the people" - before attending a mega rally of opposition parties that his father has planned later this month.

Two weeks ago, Nitish Kumar ended his alliance with Lalu Yadav, hours after he said that son Tejashwi would not resign as Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister despite corruption charges against him. The next day he joined hands with the BJP to set up a new government.
 The move shifted Tejashwi Yadav, who contested his first election less than two years ago, to the position of Leader of Opposition in the Bihar assembly. He debuted in that role with a fierce 40-minute attack on the new ruling alliance in a discussion before Nitish Kumar sought a trust vote that he sailed through last week.

Yesterday, Mr Yadav waved at the Chief Minister a survey which shows that 75 per cent of his ministers have criminal cases against them, reminding Nitish Kumar of the "zero tolerance to corruption" he cited when he ditched the Yadavs.

Tejashwi Yadav alleged that a CBI investigation against him on charges of corruption was only an "excuse" for Mr Kumar to walk out of their alliance. "Nitish Kumar used a CBI FIR against me as an excuse to break the Grand Alliance as he had an understanding with the BJP from the very beginning and was moving step-by-step to form a coalition government," the RJD leader said, mockingly suggesting that the new government enact a law to bar all people against whom FIR or first information reports have been registered from contesting elections.

He also made fun of Mr Kumar for saying he exited their alliance because his "antaratma" (conscience) told him to. "How many times does your inner voice sleep and awaken? Isn't it a 'kursi atma' (soul seeking a chair) or a 'lalchi atma' (greedy soul)?" Tejashwi Yadav said.