Tejashwi Yadav on Prashant Kishor’s ‘Bihar has not developed in 30 years’ remark

Poll-strategist Prashant Kishor’s statement that “Bihar is today the poorest and (the) most backward state of the country” has drawn a sharp reaction from RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. “Prashant Kishor’s statement does not make any sense. I am not aware of his whereabouts… who is he? He has never been a factor in anything so far,” the 32-year-old leader was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

His comments come days after Kishor, at a press conference earlier this week, said that while Bihar leaders – chief minister Nitish Kumar and former CM Lalu Prasad Yadav (Tejashwi Yadav’s father) – have worked for the state over the last three decades, the state is yet to see development. On Friday, the 45-year-old leader tweeted: “Nitish ji rightly said – the importance lay on truth. And the truth is that even after 30 years of Lalu-Nitish rule, Bihar is today the poorest and most backward state of the country. A new thinking and effort is needed to change Bihar and that is possible only with the collective effort of the people there.”

Kishor has been making these remarks about his home state as he prepares to start what he calls “a new journey”. Known for helming strategies for massive poll wins in the last decade or so, including that of the BJP in the 2014 national elections, Kishore this week announced a 3,000-km footmarch to understand the public sentiment. “I plan to cover a distance of 3,000 km in about a year. I will travel to every nook and corner of the state and meet as many people as possible, trying to learn from their grievances and aspirations,” he said at a press conference on Thursday. Calling his movement “Jan Suraj”,  Kishor has not ruled out the possibility of floating a party. 

But his criticism on governance in the state over the last three decades has also earned a rebuttal from the chief minister. “I give no importance to whatever somebody says. It is for you journalists to decide whether or not my administration has been able to meet expectations. People also know what we have done in the last 15 years,” Kumar said on his former colleague’s statement.

Kishor was sacked from the JDU in 2020 amid his sharp comments against the citizenship law, which has been called as “anti-minority” by critics.

With the CAA back in focus after Amit Shah spoke about it recently, Nitish Kumar on Friday said: “This is a policy decision of the Centre which we will look into separately. As of now, our primary concern is that Covid-19 cases are once again on the rise and protecting people against the fresh surge is our priority.”

Speaking on the citizenship law, Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday was quoted as saying by ANI: “Our stand is clear on CAA-NRC. We have always been opposing this in the parliament and I don think it will be implemented anytime soon in Bihar.”

(With inputs from ANI)