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Tejashwi Yadav’s ‘Jungle Raj’ dig at Prime Minister after CBI team attack in Bihar

Patna:

A day after a CBI team investigating alleged irregularities in the UGC-NET exam was attacked in Bihar’s Nawada, opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav has taken a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, dubbing him “jungle raj”, weeks after he had already used the term to dig at the RJD.

“Mr Prime Minister, look at the jungle rule in Bihar in your era. The CBI team that came to Nawada to investigate the UGC NET paper leak was attacked. Paper leak under your government, attack on the CBI under your government and jungle rule under someone else?” he said.

The RJD’s political rivals often used the phrase “jungle rule” to describe the RJD’s 15-year rule in Bihar when party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and later his wife Rabri Devi were chief ministers.

In the run-up to this general election, senior BJP politicians led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly used the term “jungle raj” to describe the RJD’s rule, saying it was the NDA rule under Nitish Kumar that brought the state out of the “dark era”. Tejashwi Yadav’s use of the term “jungle raj” in the context of the attack on the CBI team is therefore a sharp counter-blow to the BJP’s offensive.

The CBI team that was attacked in Nawada yesterday had gone there as part of its investigation into alleged irregularities in the UGC-NET exam.

UGC-NET is a test that determines the suitability of a candidate for the post of assistant professor in universities and colleges and for award of research fellowships. Amid protests against irregularities in the NEET-UG exam for admission to undergraduate medical courses, the Ministry of Education scrapped the UGC-NET just a day after it was conducted.

The exam was conducted by the National Testing Agency, which has already come under fire for irregularities in NEET. Over 1,100,000 students registered for the exam. The Education Ministry said the decision to cancel the exam was taken after there were indications that its integrity may have been compromised. The CBI is currently investigating the matter.

The CBI team in Nawada was attacked yesterday when it reached Kasiyadih village to search for suspects.

“A team of CBI officials was surrounded, manhandled and attacked by a group of villagers at Kasiyadih village under Rajauli police station jurisdiction around 4.30 pm on Saturday,” said a statement from the Nawada Police Commissioner’s office.

“Immediately after receiving the information, a team of police officials led by Station House Officer (SHO) of Rajauli police station reached the spot and pacified the villagers, following which the situation was brought under control,” it said.

Police have filed a complaint in connection with the incident and arrested four people. The driver of the CBI vehicle reportedly sustained minor injuries in the attack.

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