Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Friday scoffed at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's claim of having been under "pressure" from the CBI at the behest of the erstwhile Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.
The RJD leader said he was unaware of Shah's comment but wondered whether it was an inadvertent admittance that central agencies were being "pressurised" under the Narendra Modi government. Yadav was asked about Shah's claim of pressure to "frame" Narendra Modi, the then chief minister of Gujarat, in an alleged fake encounter case.
"I am unaware of the remarks and cannot say whether his claim has any truth in it. But, he has used the word pressure. So, by implication, does it not mean he admits to the central agencies being pressurised and not being allowed to function in a fair and impartial manner?" he asked. Shah had made the claim at an event in Delhi on Wednesday.
Yadav, the younger son and heir apparent of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, was recently grilled by the CBI in connection with a case related to the period when his father was the railway minister and he was not old enough to be in active politics.
The CBI interrogation came close on the heels of ED raids on his Delhi house and the residences of his married sisters. Yadav alleged on the floor of the Bihar assembly that the Enforcement Directorate officials had spent hours at his place despite having been through in 30 minutes, waiting for "clearance from above".
Yadav struck a philosophical note when he was asked about the disqualification from Lok Sabha of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, RJD's old ally. "Time is a great leveller. Let the wheel of time turn. All will be held to account (sabka hisaab ho jaaega)", he said.
The deputy chief minister also slammed the Centre for paying no heed to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's plea for a 'one nation one tariff' policy in the power sector. "Under the current system, we are ending up purchasing power at rates far higher than the charges for wealthier states. As announced by the chief minister in Bihar Assembly, the state cabinet has approved a subsidy of over Rs 13,000 crore to ease the burden on consumers' pockets," Yadav said.
The 34-year-old politician, who returned after spending a week in Delhi with his wife and newborn daughter, shared his joy at having his first child "at such an auspicious time, when Navaratri, Ramadan and the Christian holy season of Lent were being simultaneously observed".
"My father has named my daughter Katyayani, the deity worshipped on the sixth day of Navaratri, when she was born", said Yadav, who was congratulated by fellow legislators when he came for the first time after attaining fatherhood.
