Tejashwi fumes over 'humiliation' of Tushar Gandhi in Bihar

Patna: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday trained his guns at the ruling NDA in Bihar over the alleged mistreatment of Tushar Gandhi, a great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who has been touring the state in support of Mahagathbandhan ahead of assembly polls.

Gandhi was on Monday in East Champaran district, from where the Father of the Nation had launched his first 'Satyagraha'.

Yadav shared a video of Gandhi being talked down to by a supporter of the Nitish Kumar government, with the remark "with folded hands I apologise to Shri Tushar Gandhi on behalf of all the people of Bihar. I hope he will forgive us".

The leader of the opposition also called himself "a follower of the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, whose contribution to the freedom struggle and sacrifice and dedication fills me with gratitude".

The video shared by the former deputy CM was first posted by his party on X, claiming that the person misbehaving with Gandhi was "a BJP leader who claims himself to be from the caste to which Mahatma Gandhi belongs".

The person was heard saying in the video, "The Modi government is performing well, so is the Nitish government. You should be ashamed for not accepting this truth, being a descendant of Mahatma Gandhi." The incident had taken place at Turkauli village, close to a historical “neem tree” to which indigo planters were tied and whipped during the British Raj, a practice that came to a stop only after the Mahatma launched his first civil disobedience movement in the country.

Tushar Gandhi had spoken to journalists ahead of a function organised at the Panchayat Bhavan.

"I think Bihar needs a change. The NDA is in power and has failed to fulfil many of its promises. The Mahagathbandhan is an alternative, and so I would support the opposition formation in the upcoming elections. However, I am and will always remain an activist, and if the Mahagathbandhan comes to power, I will hold it to the same level of scrutiny," he said.

Gandhi also voiced his disappointment with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying "long back I had urged him to add Satyagraha to the name of Champaran. That would have been a tribute to Bapu".

According to Gandhi, the JD(U) supremo "had agreed to my proposal but seems to have forgotten it, which is hardly surprising in view of his innumerable political flip-flops".

After Gandhi was unceremoniously forced to exit the Panchayat Bhavan, he addressed a small public meeting outside.

He said, "Bapu may have been slain long back, but the ideology of Godse lives on. It is this ideology that wants to muzzle any voice of dissent".

"We do not know how far Bapu's commitment to truth stands a chance in electoral politics, of which lies and falsehoods have become the foundation stone. Nonetheless, we must continue to fight," he said, evoking chants of 'Inquilaab Zindabad' from the crowds.