Congress Biggest Oppn Party, But Regional Parties Must Be Given 'Driver's Seat' Wherever Strong: Tejashwi Yadav

Bihar deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday said the Congress is the biggest party in the Opposition but wherever regional parties are strong, they should be allowed to sit in the "driver's seat" to take on the BJP in the 2024 general elections.  Yadav also said that former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad and current CM Nitish Kumar along with him were making efforts to bring together regional parties and the Congress. "The Congress is part of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar. In Bihar, we are the bigger party but the Congress is the biggest Opposition party in the country. Lalu ji, Nitish ji and all of us are making efforts that Congress and regional parties come together and to decide as to what is the way forward," Yadav told reporters in response to a question while leaving the CBI headquarters where he was quizzed for more than eight hours.  

"One thing is clear, we have said it earlier also, wherever regional parties are strong they have to be in the driver's seat, the Congress people should understand this," Yadav said. Wherever there is a direct fight with the BJP, the Congress should take on them, he said, adding, there are approximately 200 such seats. Yadav was quizzed by the CBI for more than eight hours in connection with a railways land-for-jobs scam case here. Asked about his questioning, the RJD leader said his family has always cooperated with the probe and answered all questions that were asked of them. "The truth is that there was no scam, this is clear … Everyone knows why all this is happening," he said.  

His remarks came on a day when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stressed on opposition unity and called on all opposition parties to work together. Gandhi also noted that the ruling dispensation has given them a "big weapon" by disqualifying him from Lok Sabha. Gandhi also thanked several opposition parties for extending their support to him in the wake of his conviction in a defamation case and disqualification from the Lok Sabha. The Congress on Friday welcomed the statements of opposition leaders condemning Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha and said it was now time for the party to take on the job of building the opposition unity in a "systematic way."