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Patna, Oct 16 (IANS) Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Jha on Thursday hit out at the Grand Alliance for fielding Mohammad Shahabuddin’s son Osama Shahab in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, saying such decisions prove that the alliance has not moved on from its past and represents the “Jungle Raj” era.
Jha said the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)’s decision to give ticket to Osama reflects the same governance culture that “had once pushed Bihar into anarchy and forced people to migrate in search of better opportunities”.
Jha told reporters, “For 15 years, these were the elements who became symbols of everything wrong. These people were the epitome of ‘Jungle Raj’. Because of such people, many people left Bihar and moved across the country and the world. The humiliation of Biharis was such that people were ashamed to say that they were from Bihar.”
Criticizing the RJD leadership, he said, “The culture of this party has not changed at all. How can they give tickets to such people and still say they will change Bihar? How can they do this? How will they bring good governance to Bihar?”
RJD has fielded Osama Shahab, son of late RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, from Raghunathpur assembly constituency in Siwan district.
The move has sparked political controversy as Shahabuddin had faced several criminal cases during his political career.
RJD’s ally CPI (ML), which once led a massive agitation in Siwan against Shahabuddin’s criminal activities, on Wednesday said it had “no dispute” with his family.
Reports suggest that sitting RJD MLA Hari Shankar Yadav offered his seat to Osama, following which party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav personally handed over the election symbol to him.
After being MLA from Jiradei twice, Shahabuddin reached the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1996 from Siwan. After his conviction in several criminal cases, he brought his wife Hina Shahab into politics.
She contested the Lok Sabha elections on RJD ticket in 2009, 2014 and 2019 but was unsuccessful every time. Shahabuddin died in jail while serving his sentence.
–IANS
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