PATNA/BHABHUA: There were red faces in the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the lead constituent of the ruling alliance in Bihar, on Monday when its lawmaker and former minister Sudhakar Singh once again attacked chief minister Nitish Kumar, saying he has failed on every front and should “relinquish his chair”.
Singh, son of RJD’s state unit president Jagdanand Singh, was talking to reporters on assembly premises before the start of the Budget session.
“He has no vision. Entire Bihar knows he has failed on all fronts. He is not in favour of restoring agriculture mandis (marketing yards). He doesn’t want to improve the education scenario. All development works under his rule were on paper only. He only wants to hold his chair. The state has been pushed back on development parameters,” said Sudhakar Singh, who quit as agriculture minister last year after a brief stint of just about two months following his repeated attacks on the chief minister.
“Nitish Kumar should be removed from the post of CM. Law and order has broken down. Big crimes are taking place in the state. There is prohibition and people are dying of poisonous liquor in Bihar,” he said.
Asked about Sudhakar Singh’s assessment, RJD leader and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said action will be taken against Singh.
“If he is deliberately giving such statements, it means he is acting at somebody’s behest. Such statements are not good. Our party’s national president (his father Lalu Prasad) will soon take a call,” said Yadav.
To be sure, this wasn’t the first time that Sudhakar Singh has targeted Nitish Kumar. On Sunday evening, Sudhakar Singh told a meeting of farmers that he would prefer President’s rule in the country rather than have Nitish Kumar as prime minister. “At a time when farmers, the poor and workers are facing their worst crisis, he (Nitish Kumar) has procured a ₹350-crore aircraft to further his prime ministerial ambitions. The money could have benefitted farmers,” he had said.
The RJD did issue a show cause notice to Sudhakar Singh – he replied last week – but there is no word on the party’s decision.
The Janata Dal-United hit back at Sudhakar Singh. Party leader Neeraj Kumar said: “We don’t take notice of RJD MLA who is a 420 (an accused in a cheating case) and has been jailed in paddy milling scam.”
