Patna, June 30 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have criticised Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Leader of the Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, after the latter publicly said that if the Mahagathbandhan government came to power in Bihar, he would “put the Waqf Act into the dustbin”.

Reacting to the statement, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said, “We cannot expect much from RJD and Tejashwi Yadav. They have a history of tearing Bills in the past. During former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government in 1998-99, the Women’s Reservation Bill was introduced in the Parliament, and RJD leaders tore it apart. Now Tejashwi Yadav is saying that he will throw the Waqf Act into the dustbin if he comes to power. We are not surprised by his statement.”

Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey also criticised Tejashwi Yadav’s remarks, accusing him of disrespecting the Constitution.

“These people do not believe in the Indian Constitution written by B.R. Ambedkar. RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav allowed Baba Saheb’s photograph to be kept near his feet, and now his son is talking about throwing a law passed by Parliament into the dustbin. The Parliament is the largest people’s panchayat in the country, and it functions under Baba Saheb’s Constitution. If Parliament passes a Bill, it means the Constitution has passed it, and yet he talks about discarding it. What kind of thinking is this? These people do not respect the Constitution,” Pandey said while addressing the media after a Jan Samvad programme at the state BJP office in Patna on Monday.

Union Textile Minister and senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh also targeted Tejashwi Yadav, calling him a “Namazwadi” leader instead of a “Samajwadi”.

“They (RJD leaders) have never been socialists. Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son has never followed socialism; he is only a Namazwadi leader. In the coming days, such leaders will emerge who, in an attempt to please one community, will end up pleasing none,” Singh said.

Tejashwi Yadav’s remarks came during the “Waqf Bachao, Samvidhan Bachao” rally organized at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on Sunday.

–IANS

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