In yet another controversial statement made by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, he has insulted the Gujarati community by suggesting that only Gujaratis could be fraudsters in the current scenario, as they would be forgiven for their actions due to the fact that both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister are Gujaratis.
Tejaswi said, “In the country’s present scenario, only a Gujarati can be a thug as their thuggee would be forgiven”. Attacking the BJP, he said, who would be responsible if someone runs away with the money of LIC or banks.
The statement is not only a factually incorrect one but is also highly demeaning of the hard-working Gujarati community. And his statement becomes laughable when seen in the light of the scams that took place in Bihar during his father, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s rule. When Tejaswi Yadav, who is himself an accused in the Land-for-job scam says something like this, it doesn’t go down very well.
Land-for-job scam by Lalu Prasad Yadav
In the Land for job scam case, the principal allegation is that bribes in the form of land were received by Lalu Prasad Yadav, his family members, companies handled by them, and other close aides in exchange for recruitment for the posts of Group D in the Indian Railways in the tenure when Lalu Prasad Yadav was the Union Railway Minister.
Tejaswi Yadav’s house was recently raided by the ED in connection with the Land-for-jobs scam.
The case dates back to the era when Lalu Prasad Yadav used to be the Union Railway Minister in the Congress-led UPA-1 (United Progressive Alliance) government. It was in this government from 2004 to 2009 that Lalu Prasad Yadav worked as the Railway Minister. The Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo and former chief minister of Bihar Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family members including his wife Rabri Devi, daughter Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav, and son Tejashwi Yadav are among the prime accused in this case.
The incident has once again highlighted the issue of divisive politics and the need for political leaders to choose their words carefully to avoid causing offence or hurting the sentiments of any community. Besides, it is also worth noting that Lalu Prasad Yadav is already convicted in a fodder scam.