India News | Nitish Govt Patronising Criminals, Alleges Tejashwi After Shootout on Patna's Outskirts
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday charged the ruling NDA in Bihar with giving "patronage to criminals" and asserted that his party, if voted to power in the upcoming assembly polls, would ensure that they went behind bars.
Patna, Jan 23 (PTI) RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday charged the ruling NDA in Bihar with giving "patronage to criminals" and asserted that his party, if voted to power in the upcoming assembly polls, would ensure that they went behind bars.
The former deputy CM made the remark when his comments were sought on the exchange of fire in Mokama, on the outskirts of Patna, on Wednesday in which the name of controversial former MLA Anant Kumar Singh has cropped up.
"Hundreds of rounds were fired, which is proof that people are not safe even in the vicinity of the state capital. Had it been any other government, there would have been debates on national television about the collapse of law and order in Bihar," said the leader of the opposition.
The gunbattle took place between supporters of Singh, whose wife Neelam Devi is the sitting MLA from Mokama, and family members of Urmila Devi, a panchayat mukhiya, in what is suspected to be a case of political rivalry.
SP Vikram Sihag said, "Three FIRs have been registered in connection with the incident. While two cases have been lodged on the basis of complaints of the two parties, another one, invoking sections of the Arms Act, has been registered by the police."
Urmila Devi's son Sonu Singh, and Anant Singh have since been giving statements before the press, vowing to vanquish each other, and Yadav wondered what was the stand of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the spectacle.
"In the recent past, at least two criminals have been released from jail thanks to the chief minister's benediction. And they roam about freely, giving interviews with a swagger," remarked the RJD leader.
The allusion was to Anant Singh and former MP Anand Mohan, both gangsters turned politicians against whom the RJD has an axe to grind. Singh's wife and Mohan's son Chetan were elected on RJD tickets but both crossed over to the NDA last year and petitions seeking their disqualification have been pending before the assembly speaker.
Yadav said, "For months, we have been exposing the rise in crime rate which is directly linked to the NDA's patronage of criminals. Bihar needs to get rid of this government. Once we come to power, all these criminals will be in jail."
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)