PATNA: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Saturday came out with a list of directives for cabinet colleagues belonging to the RJD, in an obvious attempt at image makeover for his party.
The RJD heir apparent issued the commandments on his official Twitter handle, whereby party ministers have been forbidden from purchasing new cars and also from allowing visitors to touch feet.
"Greetings should be exchanged with namaste or aadab," said Yadav, whose party is facing the heat over criminal cases pending against many ministers.
He further asked ministers to conduct themselves "with dignity and humility" and give priority to helping the poor "irrespective of their religion and caste".
"Please also promote exchange of books or pens in place of bouquets," added the leader who now seems intent on projecting a more mature image of himself.
In an apparent bid to restrain RJD members from gloating over their party being the largest partner, he used the term "under the leadership of honourable chief minister" twice while instructing ministers to encourage probity, transparency and quick action and make use of social media to apprise the people of the government's initiatives.
The BJP, which has been in a sulk over the sudden loss of power after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar quit NDA alleging attempts at splitting his JD(U), reacted with sarcasm.
"The script is well written. But who is going to read and understand. Nonetheless, in the interests of Bihar we appeal to the ministers to heed the advice of Tejashwi bhai," state BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand said in a statement.
The opposition BJP in Bihar on Friday flagged the presence of a private staff and a relative at official meetings of Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and his elder brother and cabinet colleague Tej Pratap Yadav respectively.
Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, who has come out of political hibernation to lead the charge against "betrayal" of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, shared on his Twitter handle photographs of the Deputy CM with Sanjay Yadav, who has for long been the point man of the RJD heir apparent, besides officials of health and road construction department which he holds.
Earlier, Modi had shared photographs of Tej Pratap Yadav with officials of the latter's ministry for environment, forestry and climate change where Shailesh Kumar, married to RJD president Lalu Prasad's eldest daughter and Rajya Sabha MP, Misa Bharti, was present.
Modi, who had served as the state's deputy CM for nearly a decade and a half, said: "For so many years, we remained in power in Bihar. Never could we think of bringing family members or supporters to official meetings. But these are changed times. The happenings are a reflection on the dominance of Lalu family over Bihar's political landscape."
The wily leader also remarked: "No IAS officer can dare raise an objection to the entry of people who have no business being present at official meetings. And (Chief Minister) Nitish Kumar has no choice, but to look on helplessly. The RJD hit back reminding Modi that his own party was not above reproach."
"While the BJP was in power till a fortnight ago, the son of the then Deputy CM Tarkishor Prasad was known to be giving orders to officials. The then road construction minister Nitin Nabin's family members were often seen at his office," said RJD spokesperson and former MLA Shakti Yadav.
"Sushil Modi should know that neither of the two photographs of Tej Pratap was of any review meeting, as suggested by him. These were just get-togethers where presence of family members does take place. As far as the Deputy CM is concerned, Sanjay Yadav has been Tejashwi Yadav's key aide for long and he is tipped to be formally appointed as a personal assistant," Yadav added.
Another RJD spokesperson Chitaranjan Gagan also shared on Twitter a photograph of Union minister Ashwini Choubey at an official function where his son can be seen standing behind him.
Gagan also shared a Facebook post in which Ram Naresh Prasad Yadav, the husband of BJP MLA Gayatri Devi, proudly claimed to have "summoned" officials and directed them to address grievances of the people.
Political strategist turned politician Prashant Kishor on Friday claimed that the new cabinet in Bihar had a few ministers whose names had been "vetoed" in 2015 when the "Mahagathbandhan" (Grand Alliance) had come to power after winning the Assembly polls.
Kishor, who had worked closely with the alliance which then comprised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U), Lalu Prasad's RJD and the Congress, made the claim in reply to queries from journalists in Darbhanga district where he was asked about the controversy surrounding "tainted ministers".
"There were many names which were vetoed in 2015 since the persons concerned had taints of criminal records. In the ministry that has been sworn in, I can see three of them comfortably ensconced," said Kishor, refusing to divulge further details.
Kishor, who was inducted into the JD(U) in 2018 and elevated to the post of national vice president within a month, only to be ousted less than two years later, also blamed inconsistency in the party line for his unceremonious exit.
"It was decided in the party that we will oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill. But the JD(U) MPs ended up voting in its favour. Nitish Kumar told me he was not aware since he was away on tour and he later got a resolution passed against NRC in the state Assembly. I grew uncomfortable with this lack of consistency", he said.
The recent upheaval was just one more event to have taken place in the state which has been rocked by political instability since 2012 when Narendra Modi started getting national prominence, Kishor claimed.
"My best wishes are with the new government but this seven-party alliance will not remain as it is," he said.
Kishor, who is touring the state as part of the Bihar-centric "Jan Suraaj" campaign, which may later evolve into a political party, had earlier in the day launched an online poll seeking feedback from the people on Nitish Kumar's latest volte-face.
In the poll launched on his official Twitter handle, Kishor asked users to vote with 'yes' or 'no' to his query in Hindi.
He said, "This is the sixth experiment by Nitish Kumar in the last 10 years towards government formation. Do you think, this time, the people of Bihar stand to benefit?" Earlier this month, Nitish Kumar broke ranks with the BJP-led NDA and became the chief minister of the rival Grand Alliance.
The current ruling coalition comprises seven parties, JD(U), RJD, Congress, CPI(ML), CPI, CPI(M) and HAM, which together have more than 160 MLAs in the 243-strong assembly.