Patna: Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Wednesday hit out at deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who had appealed that the RJD and the Congress should take part in the human chain on January 21 against dowry and child marriage.

"Sushil Kumar Modi has become the spokesperson of chief minister Nitish Kumar," Tejashwi said. "If he is so intelligent and senior leader in the party why can't he implement prohibition in Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh where the BJP is in power? He should tell the chief ministers of both states to hold human chains in their states as well.

"We all know that there is a monk (chief minister Yogi Adityanath) in Uttar Pradesh who has adopted vairagya (renounced the world) and in Bihar Nitishji is about to adopt vairagya. First Sushil Modi should ask the Uttar Pradesh monk to implement prohibition and form human chain there," he added.

Tejashwi cited the high court ruling that the state government cannot force children to participate in the human chain.

"I have been telling from day one that the human chain is just big drama and an image-building exercise," he said. "Forming the human chain at a time of extreme cold is nothing but dictatorship. Why are only Class I to Class V students exempted? Make it voluntary participation; then Nitish ji will come to know how many people are interested in this event."

He said the chief minister was ignoring the real problems of the state.

"Why is Nitish ji not listening to the demands of teachers on contract? On one hand he wants to use them for the human chain and on the other hand he is ignoring their demands," Tejashwi alleged. "Form human chain on the issue of deteriorating law and order and providing employment to the youths and see the amount of voluntary participation. It would be huge."