Tejashwi Yadav takes on Nitish Kumar over u-turn on demonetisation, says 'he is years behind'

The attack by Tejashwi Yadav came a day after Nitish Kumar raised questions on demonetisation on Saturday.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav has hit out at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the latter’s criticism of demonetisation, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2016.

The attack by RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son came a day after the Janata Dal United (JDU) leader raised questions on demonetisation on Saturday, years after he had lauded Prime Minister Modi for the move.

Our beloved Nitish Chacha took another sharp U-turn..

He supported demonetisation but now questioning it...

He is always years behind in understanding the issues, difficulties & demands of common people.

Don’t be surprised if he calls demonetisation the biggest scam of India — Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) May 27, 2018

Taking to microblogging site Twitter, the Yadav scion wrote, “Our beloved Nitish Chacha took another sharp U-turn..He supported demonetisation but now questioning it...He is always years behind in understanding the issues, difficulties & demands of common people.”

“Don’t be surprised if he calls demonetisation the biggest scam of India,” tweeted Tejashwi Yadav.

The Bihar Chief Minister had on Saturday questioned the benefits out of demonetisation. He sought to know if the Centre's sudden decision to ban the old currency notes of high denomination actually benefited the poor and the downtrodden, the marginalised and the weaker sections of the society.

The Bihar politician also slammed the banks for allegedly helping the rich and powerful manage their cash during the notes ban.

"I was initially the supporter of demonetisation...but how many people benefited from it? Some powerful people shifted their cash from one place to another," Nitish Kumar said at a meeting with bank officials.

Nitish Kumar's remarks against the Centre's demonetisation move came on a day when the saffron party was celebrating the completion of four years of Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

Nitish Kumar's party JD(U) is a BJP ally and runs a coalition government in Bihar.

The Bihar Chief Minister made these remarks in front of his deputy and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi.

Following the announcement of demonetisation by Prime Minister Modi, Nitish Kumar, who was then a part of Mahagathbandhan comprising the RJD and the Congress along with the JDU, had hailed the move.