Prashant Kishor takes dig at Tejashwi's govt job promise ahead of polls

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Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor launched a scathing attack on Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav's promise of providing a government job for every household in Bihar, and said that either he is a fool or he is trying to fool everyone.

Speaking to ANI on Saturday, Prashant Kishor said, "...If we believe him, they (RJD) gave 4-5 lakh jobs in eighteen years. Now he is saying that three crore jobs will be created in the next two years. This means only one thing: either you are a fool or you are trying to fool everyone."

Earlier, on October 9, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav promised that within 20 days of the formation of the Mahagathbandhan government, it would pass a law ensuring a government job for every household in Bihar. Assembly elections in Bihar are scheduled to take place on November 6 and November 11, with votes to be counted on November 14.

Tejashwi also mentioned that he provided five lakh government jobs during his 17-month tenure, slamming the government by stating that the people who used to mock his party regarding unemployment are receiving unemployment allowances.

JSP chief Prashant Kishor also said that if he runs for election from Raghopur, the people there have to stand with him. He accused opposition parties of sharing corruption, fighting over who would get more power and money.

"...if I have to contest from Raghopur, the people of Raghopur will have to stand with me. And whatever I've seen and understood today, I'll present it at the party meeting tomorrow. In a day or two, we'll know who's contesting. The people of Bihar are seeing it. This isn't seat-sharing. This is a sharing of corruption, who will loot more, who will become a minister, who will get more contracts, who will get a bigger share of the loot, this is a fight for it," he said.

Kishor warned that if voters choose corrupt leaders again, they should be ready to live in bad conditions for the next five years.

"It will continue for a long time, because they know that once we form our alliance, etc, we will fool the public again. Some will sell themselves out in the name of caste, some will become Hindus or Muslims, some will vote for five kilograms of grain, some for five hundred rupees. However, if this happens, I want to inform the people of Bihar through you: be prepared to live under this system for the next five years. Then don't blame anyone. Then don't say there's a lot of corruption in Bihar because you voted for the corrupt. So, under any circumstances, you must remove those who have committed corruption. If you don't, be prepared to live in this miserable condition," Kishor said.

The Raghopur assembly constituency, situated in Vaishali district of the state, is one of the key assembly constituencies with a rich history, as key leaders like Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and their son Tejashwi Yadav have represented the seat.

Lalu Prasad Yadav won the seat twice, while Rabri Devi secured it three times, serving as Chief Minister on both occasions. Tejashwi Yadav has held the seat twice, in 2015 and 2020, and has served as Deputy CM and Leader of Opposition.