"Tejashwi doesn't want to stay in Bihar, Rahul Gandhi doesn't want to stay in country": Nityanand Rai

Speaking to reporters, Rai said, "Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi have the same nature. Tejashwi Yadav does not want to stay in Bihar and Rahul Gandhi does not want to stay in the country... Now there's a big controversy in their party too... Whenever these people go abroad, they speak against the country after returning."

This follows Rahul Gandhi's announcement that he will be visiting Germany. The announcement kicked off a fresh political storm, with the BJP slamming him for going abroad even as the Lok Sabha continues its crucial winter session.

Gandhi is scheduled to attend a major Indian Overseas Congress event in Berlin on December 17, where he will meet IOC leaders from across Europe.

Earlier on December 6, Union Minister Rai took a sharp swipe at Bihar Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav over his continued absence from the ongoing Bihar assembly session, claiming that the RJD leader has "disappeared from Bihar's politics."

Speaking to reporters, Rai said, "Tejashwi Yadav has disappeared from Bihar's politics. This indicates that he has no attachment to Bihar and its people. The people of Bihar are watching everything."

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Maithili Thakur also spoke about the absence Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav in the Bihar legislative assembly on the third day of the first assembly session after the formation of the newly formed government in the state.

Speaking to ANI, she said the opposition might have expressed its views more strongly if Tejashwi Yadav had been present in the assembly session today.

"It was the first time I experienced discussions in the House. I was listening and observing how people spoke and presented their views. The presence of Tejashwi Yadav was missing, and the opposition might have expressed their views more strongly had he been there," Thakur said. (ANI)