Bihar deputy CM Tejaswi Yadav rubbishes 'jungle raj' jibe

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav on Monday trashed the "jungle raj" barb, the Opposition uses to attack the Nitish Kumar government, and asked the BJP and LJP not to paint a bad picture of the state.

"After some criminal incidents the Opposition starts saying it is 'jungle raj' (in Bihar). But when the accused is caught and punished they're not seen," Tejaswi told PTI on the sidelines of 'Janata ke Darbar me Mukhya Mantri' programme. "They talk a lot about crime situation in Bihar but why did they maintain silence when my brother-in-law was robbed at gun point at Gurgaon on last Wednesday ... Is it an example of 'Mangal raj' in BJP ruled Haryana?" he asked.

Citing the figures of the Union government Yadav said Bihar is on the 22nd position in terms of crimes committed. "A state on the 22nd position has 'jungle raj' while BJP-ruled Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, figuring ahead of Bihar, have no jungle raj?" he asked.

On LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan's comment earlier in the day about "return of 'jungle raj'", Tejaswi said, "He (Paswan) is like a guardian. My father (Lalu Prasad) has told me not to speak anything against him. But he and other Opposition leaders should desist from bringing politics in a criminal incident."

When people rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's barb of 'jungle raj' under RJD and JD(U) during the Bihar elections what is the relevance of assertions by others, he asked. The Opposition have nothing to criticise hence they take opportunity in every criminal incident to attack the Nitish Kumar government, he charged.