Pappu Yadav (ANI)
NEW DELHI: Independent MP from Purnea, Pappu Yadav, on Saturday hit out at the income tax department, claiming he had received a notice that treated his relief work for flood victims as a “crime.”In a post on X, Yadav said, “I have received an income tax notice; it has labeled distributing money to help flood victims as a crime. If this is a crime, then I will always continue to commit the crime of helping every deprived victim!” He added that he had extended monetary help to flood-affected families in Maniyari village under Nayagaon East Panchayat in Vaishali district, whose homes and belongings were washed away by the Ganges. “If I hadn’t helped them, would I have remained a mute spectator like the Home State Minister or the local MP, who are self-proclaimed CM candidates?” he asked.Yadav’s response came just days after he invited Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to join the Mahagathbandhan, saying the BJP was “stabbing him from behind.” Speaking to ANI, the MP said, “I invite him because the BJP is stabbing him from behind. BJP is finishing him. Our leaders have always respected him. He is being stabbed from behind, but we have a lot of respect for him.”However, Yadav also expressed discontent over the Mahagathbandhan’s campaign materials, questioning why only Tejashwi Yadav’s photo was being used. “Voting will be done on Rahul Gandhi’s picture only and not on anyone else’s picture… Pictures of all three leaders of the alliance should have been there. This is not right, and it will not send the right message… We can win Bihar only on the face of Rahul Gandhi. We have no other way to win here,” he said.In response, RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari defended Tejashwi’s prominence, saying, “Bihar mein Tejashwi hi Tejashwi hai… The public has already approved Tejashwi Yadav’s face as CM. The people of Bihar have accepted Tejashwi Yadav as their chief minister.”The Mahagathbandhan, led by the RJD, includes the Congress, CPI(ML), CPI, CPM, and Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP). The NDA comprises the BJP, JD(U), LJP (Ram Vilas), HAM(S), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).Polling for the Bihar Assembly elections will be held on November 6 and 11, with counting on November 14.(With inputs from agencies)
