Tejashwi demands affidavit from Modi

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sign an affidavit promising that he would not seek help from any of the 23 Opposition parties which the BJP has labelled as "corrupt" and "thieves" to form a government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls.

Tejashwi was among Opposition leaders who met Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her dharna site here and addressed the gathering there.

He had also participated in the mega Opposition rally called by Mamata ion January 19.

BJP national president Amit Shah had compared Opposition parties to a "band of thieves" and had alleged that they had looted the country's wealth by indulging in corruption.

"Today all BJP leaders are saying that a band of thieves have joined hands to form the federal front (of opposition parties). I request you Modiji, Arun Jaitley ji, Amit Shah ji and Ravi Shankar Prasad ji to please sign an affidavit stating that you will not seek help from any one of the 23 Opposition parties to form the government," he said.

Tejashwi said that if a party severs ties with the BJP then it is labelled as corrupt. "When Chandrababu Naidu parted ways with the BJP, they started harassing him. So the situation is they will hound you if you are not with them but if they need you, then they will place you on their heads," he said.

Naidu, TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh chief minister who had snapped ties with the NDA in March 2018, had accused the NDA government of harassing political rivals through central agencies. He had also withdrawn the general consent accorded to the CBI to conduct raids and carry out investigations in the state. The move had been welcomed by Mamata.

The RJD leader wondered whether the CBI would be able to initiate an investigation against BJP national president Amit Shah's son whose business had allegedly got a big upswing after the BJP-led government came to power at the Centre in 2014. "You (CBI) are showing overactive drive against us. If you are so neutral then will you be able to initiate an investigation against Amit Shah's son?" he said.