The cycle yatra of leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav was marred on Saturday by heavy rain in Gaya from where he was scheduled to pedal his way to Patna and on way telling people about the "lawlessness" and questions related to security of girls. The cycle march billed as "NDA bhagao, Beti bachao" could only be started in the afternoon.
High-level preparations had been made by the RJD for this much publicised yatra and the party leaders including legislators had reached Gaya a day earlier and had also rehearsed the pedalling. It was scheduled to start from Gaya's Gandhi Maidan in the morning after a public meeting to be addressed by Yadav. But the field was waterlogged and nobody reached there.
Tejashwi, wearing a green T-shirt, black trousers and snickers, offered prayers at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya and when the downpour subsided he along with nearly 50 party men, including security men, started his march. Due to bad weather the cycle yatra was made symbolic and programmes to make halts at roadside towns and villages were dropped.
The former deputy CM had planned this protest in the light of the exposure of the sexual exploitation of underage girls at shelter home in Muzaffarpur. The case, already recommended for CBI probe, shocked the nation and rocked the Nitish Kumar led NDA Government.
However, his elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav was nowhere in sight. The former Health Minister while rehearsing the cycling had fallen down two days back near his residence. He was followed by some cyclists and his security personnel who were either on bikes or jeep. Yadav hit one jeep while taking turn and fell on the road. He however, said on Saturday that he would join his younger brother at Jehanabad on Sunday morning.
Before starting his yatra Tejashwi alleged, "It is Rakshash raj in Bihar where everyday Sita is kidnapped by Ravana and Cheer haran of Daraupdi is a routine." He further accused Nitish in a tweet, "Antaratma (conscience) has slipped into a deep convenient sleep. It will wake up only when CM's chair is in danger. He won't rise to safeguard the interests of Bihari, to save women from crime, criminals and rapists."
Meanwhile Congress came down heavily on Bihar Government for the Muzaffarpur shelter home incident.
Bihar Congress in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil, Ranjeet Ranjan, Priyanka Chaturvedi and Sharmistha Mukherjee in a joint statement said the BJP-JDU ruled Bihar was in the grip of complete lawlessness as horrifying incidents have shaken the conscience of the people. "A Government and a CM who was known for empowering women and girl child through bicycles, prohibition and reservation presides over a regime where girls in shelter homes are being sexually exploited," they alleged.
"The opportunistic alliance of BJP-JDU in Bihar has just completed one year in power. It is a year marred by mis-governance and anarchy," the Congress leaders said and demanded a Supreme Court monitored CBI enquiry in the case so that the culprits are truly brought to book.