It's not 'jungle raj' but 'rakchhas raj' in Bihar, alleges Tejashwi Yadav

New Delhi, Aug 4: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav today tore into beleaguered Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, alleging that the Muzaffarpur incident has showed that there is not 'jungle raj' (misrule) but 'rakchhas raj' (devil's rule) in the state.

The Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly was addressing a gathering at Jantar Mantar here during an RJD-led protest, in which leaders of a number of opposition parties joined in to show solidarity with the victim girls.

The alleged sexual exploitation of girls at a shelter-home in Muzaffarpur had come to light in a social audit conducted by Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

An FIR was lodged by the state social welfare department in June, which led to the arrest of 10 people.

Medical reports have confirmed sexual abuse of more than 30 girls formerly lodged at the shelter home, which has since been sealed. The case was handed over to the CBI last week.

Kumar had yesterday expressed remorse over the sexual abuse of girls at the state-funded shelter-home and asserted that he would ensure the rule of law prevailed in the state.

"It is good that 'Chachaji' (Nitish Kumar) broke his silence on the issue yesterday... But, has his conscience been pricked? Earlier his conscience would be pricked on the smallest of issues. We did the cycle rally from Gaya and today, we have gathered here to demand justice for those girls," Tejashwi said.

Even after being alerted, the action was taken months later, he said, alleging, "Is this an attempt to destroy the evidence as in the Srijan case."

"Today, as a Bihari, I hang my head in shame. What has happened in this case, shows that it is not 'jungle raj' (misrule) but 'rakchhas raj' (devil's rule) in the state," he said.

He invoked the characters of Duryodhan from Mahabharta and Ravana from Ramayana to target the chief minister.

"There are 'Duryodhans' robbing the honour of women and 'Ravanas' abducting them in the state," he alleged.

Tejashwi demanded a probe monitored by the Supreme Court and that the girls be shifted to Delhi and provided safety.

"Nitishji talks about girls education and protection but such heinous crimes happen right under the nose of the government. One can see difference in words and deeds. Also, the one of the girls, who had maximum information on this crime, was shifted to another shelter-home in Madhubani. And, reportedly, she has also gone missing," he alleged.

"We are here protesting to seek speedy justice for those girls," he said.

PTI