'Bringing back Jungle Raj': Jitan Ram Manjhi on Tejashwi Yadav-Congress meeting

Patna, April 15 (IANS) In response to Tejashwi Yadav’s meeting with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, Union MSME Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi accused the opposition alliance of plotting to bring back “Jungle Raj” in Bihar.

“Some selfish people held a meeting in Delhi today and discussed how to re-establish Jungle Raj in Bihar,” Manjhi alleged, taking a sharp dig at the Congress-RJD leadership.

He claimed the leaders of the INDIA alliance were desperate to regain power and could not tolerate the development and fear-free environment currently prevailing in Bihar under the NDA government.

“The people of Bihar have tasted development. The opposition cannot fool them now with hollow promises,” he added.

Manjhi, a prominent Dalit leader, also targeted Tejashwi Yadav’s recent outreach in Raghopur, where the RJD leader appealed for Dalit respect while eating sattu with locals.

“Why this sudden change of heart? If Dalits are being promised to be respected now, does it mean they were not respected during his parents’ regime?” alleged Manjhi.

He asserted that Dalit voters in Bihar still remember the “tortures” they faced during the tenure of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi and warned that no assurances from Tejashwi could erase that past.

“Who will guarantee Dalits won’t be harassed again if RJD comes to power?” he said.

Earlier in the day, Tejashwi Yadav described his meeting with Congress top brass as ‘positive’ and revealed that a wider alliance meeting with CPI, CPI-ML, and CPM will take place on April 17 in Patna to finalise the Mahagathbandhan’s strategy for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.

--IANS

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