Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav while addressing an event in Darbhanga on Sunday (26th November) took a jibe at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attacking his faith.
#WATCH | Darbhanga: Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav says, "We don't want clashes and chaos. Now even the people of UP are saying that their CM is only ringing bells but they need to come to Bihar for jobs… All of you should not believe their false promises. Hunger cannot be… pic.twitter.com/n01AfQvWTA
— ANI (@ANI) November 27, 2023
Speaking at the Nonia Samaj Mahasammelan organised at the Darbhanga Medical Ground, he said that people from UP too are saying that the CM only “rings bells”.
“Yeh sab ladai, danga, fasaad nahin..ab toh UP ke log keh rahe hain..UP ke log aage kehta hai ki wahan ke jo mukhyamantri baba hain woh khali ghanti bajwa denge..lekin naukri lene Bihar hi ana pad raha hai. Samaj rahe hain? Ghanti bajane se pet bharega kya? (There is no fighting, rioting…now the people of UP are saying that the CM baba there only rings bells..but one has to come to Bihar for jobs. Do you understand? Will ringing bells bring food to the table?),” Tejashwi said.
He urged the people not to believe the BJP adding that Mandir and Masjid (temples and mosques) don’t fill the stomach.
“Theek hai astha hai, Bhagwan hain. Bhagwan ka ashirvaad chahiye. Puja paath dikhawti nahin hona chahiye. Lekin yeh sab dikhawti karta hai. Dil mein Bhagwan hona chahiye, mann mein Bhagwan hona chahiye, asli shraddha wahi hoti hai. Jhooth ka tika lagakar, bhagwa pehenkar, hehe hehe hoho hoho karnese nahin hota hai. (Fine, it is faith, there’s God. We need God’s blessings. But worshipping shouldn’t be for the sake of show-off. He (UP CM) does show off. God should be in the heart, that is true devotion. Putting fake tika, and wearing saffron is not it (devotion),” the RJD leader said.
विगत विधानसभा चुनाव में अतिपिछड़ा वर्ग के नोनिया समाज को हमने सबसे अधिक सीटें दी थी, इस वर्ग से श्रीमती अनिता देवी जी बिहार सरकार में मंत्री भी है। आयोग और बोर्ड में भी सदस्य बनाए गए है। #Bihar #TejashwiYadav pic.twitter.com/dTkQn8597T
— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) November 26, 2023
Tejashwi’s over-the-top statement on employment stemmed from the teachers’ recruitment drive in the state-run schools which saw candidates from other states also getting the chance to apply.
In June this year, the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government announced the cancellation of domicile-based recruitment of candidates for teaching jobs in state-run schools paving the way for candidates from across India to apply.
However, former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi alleged that deliberate preference was given to UP candidates as many were from Phulpur and surrounding areas. Phulpur is reportedly speculated as a possible constituency where Nitish Kumar could contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Manjhi alleged that the recruitment exercise is a “money for job” scheme and demanded that the domicile criteria be restored to provide employment to Bihar youths.
BJP has been demanding a probe in the recruitment process alleging that 37,500 teachers already in service have been reappointed and 30,000 are from other states.
Notably, Tejashwi’s attack on Yogi Adityanath and the Hindu faith came while he was addressing the Nonia community, which falls under the extremely backward class category.
The Nitish Kumar-led alliance in Bihar recently published the data from the caste survey revealing that around 63% of the state population falls in the backward and extremely backward class category.
According to the Caste Census, Yadavs account for almost 14.27% of the total state population. Among the OBCs, they are the largest in terms of population. Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav hails from this OBC subgroup. The Kurmis, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s community, make up 2.87 percent of the population.
Based on this, the Bihar government raised the reservation for backward classes and castes from 50 to 65% in government jobs and educational institutions, taking the overall reservation of the state to 75%.
Attack on the Hindu faith
It is not uncommon for Opposition leaders to exchange political barbs at the cost of the Hindu faith and sentiment. But if Tejashwi Yadav really is one for not “showing off” his religious belief then he needs to look no further than his own home.
His hypocrisy is exposed when he chooses to question the faith of UP CM Yogi Adityanath – who is also a highly revered Hindu monk, and the Mahant of Gorakhpeeth– but turns a blind eye to the many theatrics of his own brother Tej Pratap Yadav.
But there is more than just a political war of words hiding behind such a statement. It exposes the kind of politics parties like the RJD and JD(U) have indulged in when communicating with the deprived ranks of the larger Hindu civilisation.
Demonising the symbols of Hinduism before a backward Hindu community is an attempt at ‘othering’ them to divide the Hindu vote and turn it into a separate branch.
And then again, the usual insult to anything Hindu is also common. In September, Bihar Education Minister Chandrashekar Yadav called Prophet Muhammad as “Maryada Purushottam” (a man of dignified character), a term used to describe Hindu God Bhagwan Shri Ram.
Then again, a few days later, the minister claimed that he saw Bhagwan Ram in his dreams who told him to save him from being sold in the market.
Around the same time, the Bihar minister also compared the revered Hindu scripture Ramcharitmanas with Potassium cyanide.
An RJD MLA Fateh Bahadur Singh in October said that Goddess Durga was imaginary and also made derogatory remarks against the Hindu deity.
RJD Bihar chief, Jagdanand Singh, was denounced by the BJP for his inflammatory statement that those who applied ‘tika/tilak’ (a Hindu religious sign) to their foreheads caused the country to become a slave and that such individuals are now attempting to do the same.
In August, the Bihar Education Department reduced the number of festive holidays from 23 to 11 between September to December in government schools citing the Right to Education Act. The holidays were largely on Hindu festival holidays.
The order was withdrawn following widespread criticism. In the process, a teacher who had criticised the government’s order was also suspended.
The RJD-JD(U) government in Bihar might like to manufacture its voter base by using caste and policies to its advantage. But it can only hide its shortcomings so much.
Water cannons and lathicharge were used on protesting Anganwadi workers outside the Vidhan Sabha demanding an honorarium hike. One of the protesters also fainted during the Bihar police’s action.
The Anganwadi workers claimed, the Supreme Court had also directed the government to give the workers the benefit of gratuity but the Bihar Government was not considering it.
