Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav skipped a government event in Patna on Saturday, making the rift between the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Janata Dal(United) even more apparent. He was supposed to share the stage with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
While Yadav was a guest of honour at the event, which marked the first anniversary of the state government’s digital initiatives, his nameplate was covered and later removed, reported NDTV.
The strain in the grand alliance among the Congress, RJD and JD(U) deepened after the Central Bureau of Investigation filed an FIR against Yadav in a corruption case. CBI officials had also raided his father and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s properties.
The JD(U) had given its alliance partner four days to dispel the corruption allegations against the deputy chief minister. The ultimatum expires on Saturday.
The RJD chief, however, had said on Friday that his son will not step down from the deputy chief minister’s post. “An FIR is not sufficient reason for resignation,” the former Bihar chief minister had told ANI, though he had maintained that the grand alliance will remain as is.
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