Patna’s political arena heated up Wednesday when Jan Shakti Janata Dal’s Tej Pratap Yadav excoriated Congress’s Rahul Gandhi over his Gandhian pretensions. Sparked by Rahul’s MGNREGA renaming protest as Gandhi-bashing, Yadav flipped the script on authenticity.
Dismissing tokenism, Yadav quipped, ‘Appending ‘Gandhi’ is no shortcut to true adherence.’ He spotlighted ironies: Rahul’s bullet bike rides and jeans ensemble versus Gandhi’s ascetic khadi and charkha advocacy for national self-reliance.
‘Why jeans if you’re Gandhi’s heir?’ Yadav prodded, decrying lip service sans lifestyle commitment. Hypocrisy thrives where symbols outpace substance, he warned, insisting Gandhi symbolized profound sacrifice demanding holistic emulation.
Post-Bihar polls, Yadav’s INDIA alliance jabs—Rahul foremost—intensify, paralleled by BJP overtures. Makar Sankranti saw him at Vijay Sinha’s, trading festive wishes and snapshots, but NDA talk got a ‘wait-and-see’ from both.
As Bihar navigates post-election realignments, Yadav’s provocative rhetoric underscores fracturing oppositions and budding ties, potentially redrawing state power maps.