Patna: Political tensions in Bihar have deepened ahead of the state assembly elections after opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav accused state minister Jibesh Mishra of involvement in a violent assault on a journalist in Darbhanga.
Yadav, leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the opposition in the Bihar assembly, released a video on Sunday alleging that Mishra was behind a “murderous attack” on a local reporter. He said he would travel to Darbhanga to meet the journalist and file a police complaint against the minister.
Calling for Mishra’s immediate dismissal and arrest, Yadav urged both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to intervene. “When the journalist asked a question to Minister Jivesh Mishra, he was beaten up. His mother and sister were abused. These are the values of the BJP,” he said in the video, while accusing the state police of refusing to register the journalist’s complaint.
The incident has reignited opposition criticism of law and order in Bihar, with Yadav describing the government as presiding over “jungle raj”. He alleged that the state administration selectively targets the poor while protecting powerful figures.
Mishra, a minister in Nitish Kumar’s government, has denied the allegations, calling them “false”. He said he would wait for the sub-divisional police officer’s (SDPO) report before commenting further.
The controversy comes as Mishra already faces scrutiny over a past conviction in a 15-year-old fake medicine case in Rajasthan. Although he was later released after paying a fine, opposition parties have been demanding his resignation since the ruling.
