Tejashwi Yadav says Rahul Gandhi citizenship row shows BJP is in trouble

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday dismissed the controversy over Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship as rubbish, saying the issue showed how badly placed the BJP was.

The citizenship notice

On Tuesday the Ministry of Home Affairs sent Gandhi a notice about his citizenship after a complaint from Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy. Swamy alleged that a company registered in the United Kingdom in 2003 had listed Gandhi as one of its directors, and that the Congress president had declared his nationality as British in its filings.

Speaking to reporters, Tejashwi said people had watched Gandhi grow up in India, and pointed to the service of his mother Sonia Gandhi, father Rajiv Gandhi and grandmother Indira Gandhi. He said such issues raised by the BJP showed the party was in dire straits and that Narendra Modi would not become Prime Minister again.

Attack over Muzaffarpur

The RJD leader also criticised the Prime Minister’s speech in Muzaffarpur on Tuesday, saying Modi had used crude language and had not said a word about the shelter home sexual abuse case in the town. In his speech, Modi had apparently targeted RJD chief Lalu Prasad over law and order during his time as Chief Minister, saying that strengthening such people would bring back loot, kidnapping and corruption in Bihar.

Tejashwi asked what work had been done in the last five years, whether Bihar had received its promised special package, and whether farmers’ incomes had doubled or young people had found jobs. He said the people of Bihar would answer what he called Modi’s divisive politics.

Polling in Bihar

Voting had been completed in 19 of Bihar’s 40 Lok Sabha seats over the first four phases. The other 21 constituencies were scheduled to vote on May 6, 12 and 19, with counting on May 23.

What happened next

Results declared on 23 May 2019 gave the BJP 303 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats and the Congress 52, and Narendra Modi was sworn in for a second term on 30 May 2019.

See also: Rashtriya Janata Dal.

Originally published on 1 May 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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