Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav speaks to Sourav Roy Barman on the opening for Opposition parties after the political shift in Bihar, the task of forging unity among them, and the relevance of the Congress.
You have framed a new beginning in Bihar in terms of protecting secular values and democracy. Beyond republican ideals, will it have any electoral implications?
It will definitely make a difference. The BJP’s strength has already reduced after the JD(U)’s departure. Arithmetically the combined vote share of Congress, RJD, JD(U) and Left parties is beyond 50 per cent. The BJP is not going to repeat its performance of winning 39 of 40 seats in Bihar. They will slide downwards. The Congress had won zero seats in Rajasthan, that is not going to happen again. If we join hands and fight with a strategy, then the BJP will definitely stop short of the halfway mark. And in many ways, Nitish ji’s move has made the BJP insecure. To boost their cadre’s morale, they have now suddenly targeted 350 seats. They wanted to decimate socialist politics. BJP chief J P Nadda openly called for the end of regional parties. They wanted to break the JD(U). The message of what we have done has travelled across the country. It has generated hope in the Opposition ranks.
Nitish Kumar recently held a number of meetings with many Opposition leaders in Delhi. What is your reading of the state of the Opposition unity?
Everyone will have to join hands in the national interest to save democracy and Constitutional ideals. That’s what we are trying to do. We are working on it and a good beginning has been made. Bihar has provided a good opportunity and every party should use this opportunity. Nitish ji has spoken to many leaders, Lalu ji has, I keep having meetings. Once Sonia Gandhi is back, Nitish ji and Lalu ji will together meet her. A dialogue has started, which was not the case before the change in Bihar. There were concerned efforts on Lok Sabha polls. That has started after Bihar and it is a positive sign.
Many leaders have questioned the relevance of the Congress and are hesitant to engage with the party
But their numbers are there, which is higher than us in Parliament. Eventually, numbers will decide, not statements. Others are mostly limited to their own states. So people will have to think practically and understand the situation.
Between 2017 and 2020, there was a lot of bitterness on display between you and Nitish
But I never turned extreme like (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji who questioned Nitish ji’s DNA. They were together after that. Nitish ji went away from us because they misled him by levelling charges of corruption against me. They knew he would not tolerate corruption charges. But Nitish ji has publicly admitted that doing so was a mistake and he was misled. It is good that no confusion remains now. I remain firm that I am not guilty of any wrongdoing. The charges (on the IRCTC case) have nothing to do with me. Recently, you must have seen the charges related to the shopping mall in Gurugram. I promptly clarified in the state Assembly that the charges are baseless and showed the connection of the BJP leaders instead. Why is the CBI not acting against the BJP leaders and Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar now?
You feel investigative agencies are being unleashed against you with renewed aggression?
It does not matter. The agencies are the BJP’s cells. We have a clear position — the constitutional bodies will remain, but the people in power will change. So let’s not tinker with the constitutional structures. Agencies must act independently. Who asked them to go after me on the mall issue? They should at least clarify or apologise for defaming me. They should not be party to any wrongdoing under pressure.
Nitish has been questioned over his political flip-flops. Chirag Paswan feels you will one day regret your decision to join hands with Nitish
Who has taken away Chirag ji’s house? Who has created discord in his family? Who broke his party? So I won’t regret anything. I have good relations with him, we have had family ties. But has the BJP done justice with him? What is happening now? Is he regretting what happened to him?
RJD is the largest party in Bihar. How long before people see you as the CM of Bihar?
I am not in a rush. We are working for the welfare of people. Becoming the CM and all is in the hands of the people. It doesn’t matter that we are the largest party. We were the largest party in 2015 also. Jab hona hoga hoga, jab log chahenge hoga (It will happen when it happens, when people want it to happen).
You have made big promises, particularly on employment, on generating up to 20 lakh jobs inside and outside the government. What progress has been made on that front?
We will fill all vacant posts. Cabinet notes are being prepared on filling up of vacant posts in government departments. We do not lie. We will show how it is done. Filling up vacancies will only strengthen our departments. If a hospital has four doctors instead of two, it will only be beneficial. What I have promised and what the CM has committed, we will do it, and you are going to see it soon. My fight is about this after all.
The Congress has invited all like-minded people to join its yatra. Do you see yourself being a part of it?
It is their party’s programme. We will see. Now they are in the south. We will see once they reach our region. But as I said, once Sonia ji returns, Lalu ji and Nitish ji will meet her to take ahead the dialogue on Opposition unity. All parties have their programmes. We will also have a national executive in Delhi.
Are personal ambitions of leaders the biggest impediment on the way of Opposition unity?
The ambition for all is to defeat the BJP.
PM Modi in his Independence Day speech identified dynasty politics as one of the biggest challenges facing the country. In many ways, you were also the target
It is simple, if you are not with the BJP you are a lot of things, but once you are with them you are Raja Harishchandra. Ultimately, these choices are made at the court of the people. The PM’s statements do not matter. Why else did they let loose 40 helicopters after me (during the 2020 Bihar election)? Their sons and daughters are in politics. Anurag Thakur’s son can wear a Burberry t-shirt in London but Rahul ji wearing it makes him bad. They can wear expensive shawls, kurtas, glasses, watches, and move around in expensive cars. Does the PM go around in a tonga or an e-rickshaw?