Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday warned that National Democratic Alliance government in Bihar that his party will stage protests if the alliance fails to fulfil its election promise of generating 19 lakh jobs within a month, ANI reported.

Yadav, after taking oath as an MLA of the newly-formed Legislative Assembly, said that Bihar had become India’s “unemployment capital”. “The public can’t wait anymore [for the jobs],” Yadav was quoted as saying by the news agency. “If they [the NDA government] are unable to provide 19 lakh jobs in the first month, then we will join public in protests across the state.”

The RJD leader promised that he won’t let the people’s faith be broken. “1.56 crore voters have trusted our issues such as employment, health, education and irrigation,” Yadav said. “The hard struggle will continue.”

Yadav also sharply criticised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and levelled accusations of corruption against him and his ministers.

“Immediately after the formation of the government, Nitish Kumar made Mewalal Chaudhary, a corrupt person involved in a recruitment scam, a minister in his cabinet,” Yadav was quoted as saying by India Today. “Several bureaucrats have also written an open letter claiming Nitish Kumar protected corrupt in his government.”

Also read: Bihar Education Minister Mewalal Choudhary resigns three days after taking oath

Chaudhary resigned on November 19, just three days after taking oath as the education minister in Kumar’s Cabinet. His appointment was heavily criticised by the Opposition in Bihar, particularly Yadav, who pointed out that Chaudhary was selected for the post despite the fact that he was charged with several offences, including cheating and criminal conspiracy.

The NDA government returned to power in Bihar earlier this month with a slender majority, winning 125 seats in the 243-member State Assembly. The Opposition Grand Alliance bagged 110. The Rashtriya Janata Dal, led by Yadav, emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats.

Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), for the first time in Bihar, won fewer seats than its ally. It pulled in just 43 to the BJP’s 74. This was reflected in the composition of the state cabinet. The BJP bagged seven berths, while five ministers are from the JD(U). One berth went to two smaller allies – the Hindustani Awam Morcha and the Vikassheel Insaan Party.

Employment was an important poll plank in Bihar. Yadav, while launching his party’s manifesto in October, had said that he could have made inflated promises about employment like the BJP but instead chose to stick to his genuine assurance of 10 lakh jobs.

The BJP, on the other hand, promised free coronavirus vaccines and 19 lakh jobs. The party was heavily criticised for politicising the health crisis.