Bihar polls: Tejashwi Yadav attacks Nitish Kumar, points at state's high unemployment rate

Bihar Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav attacked the Nitish Kumar government after it announced government jobs to kin of SC/ST person killed in the state just before the Assembly polls, asking why such a policy is not extended to OBC and general category people who are killed.

"Since polls are nearing, Nitish Kumar has announced government jobs to kin of SC/ST person killed in Bihar. Why shouldn't jobs be given to kin of people of OBC or the general category who are killed? This is like encouraging the murder of SC/ST people," the RJD leader said.

Moreover, Yadav claimed that Bihar's unemployment rate is around 46%, one of the highest in India, and yet, around  4.5 lakh posts are vacant in different departments of state government. "If given a chance, our government will fill all the vacant posts and create new vacancies in proportion to population," Tejashwi Yadav said.

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Just months before the state heads to elect a new Assembly, Chief Minister directed the chief secretary to immediately frame rules to provide employment to one member of a family if any Dalit person is murdered in Bihar.

A state-level vigilance and monitoring committee, constituted under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Welfare (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1995, was chaired by the CM on Friday. During the meet, Kumar directed officials to complete the execution of the pending cases under the law by September 20. He said that the research work should be completed within the prescribed time limit.

Bihar assembly elections 

Bihar will go to polls amid the COVID-19 pandemic in October/November, with the Election Commission releasing guidelines for conducting polls. As BJP lost in Delhi, all eyes are set on former party chief Amit Shah and Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United). While Kumar faces strong anti-incumbency, RJD – Bihar's main opposition – has lost the luster it once had due to the absence of it's chief Lalu Prasad Yadav – with his son Tejashwi, most likely to be named as CM hopeful. Currently, the JDU-BJP combination rules the state with 131 seats, while the RJD-Congress opposition has 111 seats. The Election Commission has also released specific COVID-19 guidelines for polling, counting votes amid the pandemic.

(With ANI inputs) (PTI Photo)

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