News Analysis India

Tag: RJD

  • Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ends JD(U)’s alliance with BJP, to meet Governor soon

    By Online Desk

    Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar has announced the end of the party’s alliance with the BJP, according to media reports.

    Earlier today, he had sought an appointment with Governor Phagu Chauhan.

    This came after the chief minister chaired a meeting of JD(U) legislators and MPs at the residence of Kumar in Patna following the resignation of party leader RCP Singh on Saturday.

    Meanwhile, Congress and Left party leaders and MLAs also converged today at the residence of Rabri Devi here for a meeting convened by the opposition RJD.

    The BJP also held a meeting of its top leaders at Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishor Prasad’s residence in Patna.

    Rumours of a growing rift between the BJP-JDU) ie the NDA alliance in Bihar intensified after Kumar skipped a key meeting of the NITI Aayog, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday and JD(U) leader RCP Singh tendered his resignation from the party.

    Singh, once considered a close aide of Nitish Kumar had announced his exit from the party after being served a notice seeking an explanation on allegations of corruption.

    The RJD-led Opposition in the state has meanwhile said that it will welcome any re-alignment in Bihar’s ruling coalition without the BJP.

    The RJD had emerged as the single-largest party in the 2020 Assembly elections in which the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 125 seats – BJP won 74, the JD(U) bagged 43, the Vikassheel Insaan Party got 4 and Hindustan Awaam Party (Secular) bagged 4 seats.

    (With inputs from ANI and IANS)

    ALSO READ | Bihar to see MVA-like government? Nitish may dump BJP in favour of RJD, Congress, Left

    Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar has announced the end of the party’s alliance with the BJP, according to media reports.

    Earlier today, he had sought an appointment with Governor Phagu Chauhan.

    This came after the chief minister chaired a meeting of JD(U) legislators and MPs at the residence of Kumar in Patna following the resignation of party leader RCP Singh on Saturday.

    Meanwhile, Congress and Left party leaders and MLAs also converged today at the residence of Rabri Devi here for a meeting convened by the opposition RJD.

    The BJP also held a meeting of its top leaders at Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishor Prasad’s residence in Patna.

    Rumours of a growing rift between the BJP-JDU) ie the NDA alliance in Bihar intensified after Kumar skipped a key meeting of the NITI Aayog, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday and JD(U) leader RCP Singh tendered his resignation from the party.

    Singh, once considered a close aide of Nitish Kumar had announced his exit from the party after being served a notice seeking an explanation on allegations of corruption.

    The RJD-led Opposition in the state has meanwhile said that it will welcome any re-alignment in Bihar’s ruling coalition without the BJP.

    The RJD had emerged as the single-largest party in the 2020 Assembly elections in which the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 125 seats – BJP won 74, the JD(U) bagged 43, the Vikassheel Insaan Party got 4 and Hindustan Awaam Party (Secular) bagged 4 seats.

    (With inputs from ANI and IANS)

    ALSO READ | Bihar to see MVA-like government? Nitish may dump BJP in favour of RJD, Congress, Left

  • Ready to embrace JD(U) if Nitish breaks ranks with BJP, says RJD

    By PTI

    PATNA: Amid a brewing political storm in Bihar, the opposition RJD on Monday said it was ready to “embrace” Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his JD(U) if he broke ranks with the BJP.

    RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tiwary said that convening meetings of legislators by both parties on Tuesday were a clear indication that the situation was extraordinary.

    “Personally, I am not aware of the goings on. But we cannot ignore the fact that both parties, which together had sufficient numbers to muster a majority, have convened such meetings when an assembly session is not round the corner,” Tiwary told reporters here.

    “If Nitish chooses to dump NDA, what choice do we have except to embrace him (‘gale lagaenge’). RJD is committed to fighting the BJP. If the chief minister decides to join this fight, we will have to take him along,” said Tiwary.

    He was also asked whether the RJD would be willing to forget bitter episodes of the past, like Kumar’s return to the NDA in 2017, citing allegations of corruption against Lalu Prasad and his family members, including a younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, who was then his deputy.

    “In politics, we cannot remain prisoners of the past. We socialists had started off opposing the Congress which was then in power. But, even the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi was imposed by invoking the Constitution. The BJP, which has now become a behemoth, seems out to destroy the Constitution. We have to respond to the challenges of the times,” Tiwary said.

    Speculations of yet another political volte-face by Kumar have been fuelled by his skipping the farewell of former President Ram Nath Kovind and the swearing-in of Droupadi Murmu and, more recently, the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.

    JD(U) has sought to make light of Kumar’s absence at the functions, citing its support to NDA in elections for President and Vice-President and also pointing toward the fact that the chief minister had then tested positive for COVID-19.

    Post-COVID debility is also said to have been cited by Kumar while expressing his inability to attend the NITI Aayog meeting.

    However, on the very same day, he was seen at more than one event, even sharing the dais at one of these with cabinet colleagues belonging to the BJP.

    On Monday, he held his weekly public interaction programme again, having recuperated from the dreaded virus.

    Among those present at the ‘Janta Ke Durbaar Mein Mukhyamantri’ programme was deputy CM Tarkishor Prasad, who is also the BJP’s leader in the house.

    Former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, whose Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) is an NDA ally, however, claimed there was no crisis in the ruling coalition.

    “In JD(U), it is Nitish Kumar who calls the shots. He has not said anything so far. I do not know what he is exactly thinking, but had he planned any major move, he would have given me a hint. I will, however, try to talk to him,” Manjhi, whose son is a minister, and who had once agreed to merge his party with JD(U), said.

    Meanwhile, AICC national secretary and MLA Shakil Ahmed Khan said whatever was happening in Bihar was “shubh sanket” (a good sign) as “the BJP, which has a history of creating trouble for its allies, is getting a taste of its own medicine”.

    He, however, declined to comment on reports in a section of the media that Kumar spoke to senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi over the phone Sunday night.

    Meanwhile, state BJP leaders were maintaining a studied silence, apparently upon the advice of the top leadership to rein in their loquacity, which could rock the boat.

    Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda, along with other national office bearers, had visited the city a fortnight ago.

    The top brass appeared to have sensed the straws in the wind at that time as evident from a press statement then reaffirming faith in the leadership of Nitish Kumar, which has, however, failed to impress the JD(U).

    PATNA: Amid a brewing political storm in Bihar, the opposition RJD on Monday said it was ready to “embrace” Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his JD(U) if he broke ranks with the BJP.

    RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tiwary said that convening meetings of legislators by both parties on Tuesday were a clear indication that the situation was extraordinary.

    “Personally, I am not aware of the goings on. But we cannot ignore the fact that both parties, which together had sufficient numbers to muster a majority, have convened such meetings when an assembly session is not round the corner,” Tiwary told reporters here.

    “If Nitish chooses to dump NDA, what choice do we have except to embrace him (‘gale lagaenge’). RJD is committed to fighting the BJP. If the chief minister decides to join this fight, we will have to take him along,” said Tiwary.

    He was also asked whether the RJD would be willing to forget bitter episodes of the past, like Kumar’s return to the NDA in 2017, citing allegations of corruption against Lalu Prasad and his family members, including a younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, who was then his deputy.

    “In politics, we cannot remain prisoners of the past. We socialists had started off opposing the Congress which was then in power. But, even the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi was imposed by invoking the Constitution. The BJP, which has now become a behemoth, seems out to destroy the Constitution. We have to respond to the challenges of the times,” Tiwary said.

    Speculations of yet another political volte-face by Kumar have been fuelled by his skipping the farewell of former President Ram Nath Kovind and the swearing-in of Droupadi Murmu and, more recently, the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.

    JD(U) has sought to make light of Kumar’s absence at the functions, citing its support to NDA in elections for President and Vice-President and also pointing toward the fact that the chief minister had then tested positive for COVID-19.

    Post-COVID debility is also said to have been cited by Kumar while expressing his inability to attend the NITI Aayog meeting.

    However, on the very same day, he was seen at more than one event, even sharing the dais at one of these with cabinet colleagues belonging to the BJP.

    On Monday, he held his weekly public interaction programme again, having recuperated from the dreaded virus.

    Among those present at the ‘Janta Ke Durbaar Mein Mukhyamantri’ programme was deputy CM Tarkishor Prasad, who is also the BJP’s leader in the house.

    Former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, whose Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) is an NDA ally, however, claimed there was no crisis in the ruling coalition.

    “In JD(U), it is Nitish Kumar who calls the shots. He has not said anything so far. I do not know what he is exactly thinking, but had he planned any major move, he would have given me a hint. I will, however, try to talk to him,” Manjhi, whose son is a minister, and who had once agreed to merge his party with JD(U), said.

    Meanwhile, AICC national secretary and MLA Shakil Ahmed Khan said whatever was happening in Bihar was “shubh sanket” (a good sign) as “the BJP, which has a history of creating trouble for its allies, is getting a taste of its own medicine”.

    He, however, declined to comment on reports in a section of the media that Kumar spoke to senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi over the phone Sunday night.

    Meanwhile, state BJP leaders were maintaining a studied silence, apparently upon the advice of the top leadership to rein in their loquacity, which could rock the boat.

    Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda, along with other national office bearers, had visited the city a fortnight ago.

    The top brass appeared to have sensed the straws in the wind at that time as evident from a press statement then reaffirming faith in the leadership of Nitish Kumar, which has, however, failed to impress the JD(U).

  • Union minister V Muraleedharan, opposition face-off at seminar on democracy

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Union minister V Muraleedharan on Friday made a slew of suggestions to opposition parties, including on internal democracy and promoting talent, at a seminar and left soon citing “pressing engagements”, sparking protests from other participants.

    The Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs was speaking at a seminar ‘Challenges Before Democracy’ to celebrate the 86th birth anniversary of late M P Veerendra Kumar, a socialist leader and Chairman of the Mathrubhumi Media Group.

    The other speakers at the seminar were senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, Congress spokesman Pawan Khera, RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha, CPI(M) leader John Brittas, BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta and activist Yogendra Yadav.

    “In the present context, the opposition feels that any achievement of India will go into the account of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hence it chooses not to applaud it. Is it good for democracy,” Muraleedharan asked.

    In his 30-minute speech, mostly in Malayalam, Muraleedharan said in a democracy everyone has the right to criticise, but in his home state Kerala, a person could be put in jail for criticising the chief minister.

    In an apparent jibe at the Congress, he said people protest on the roads across the country saying ‘democracy is in peril’ when central government agencies summon a person for questioning following the due process of the law.

    As Muraleedharan began to leave, Khera and Yadav asked him to at least hear the opposition response to the points he had raised in his speech.

    “You call this democracy when the government is not ready to listen to what we have to say? This is not acceptable,” Khera said.

    In his keynote speech, Bhushan said the role of money power in democracy had increased manifold with the introduction of electoral bonds, removal of limit on contributions to political parties by big corporations and allowing subsidiaries of foreign companies to make donations to political parties.

    He also referred to lack of access to justice, delay in court cases and not having competent judges also posed challenges before democracy.

    “If we have to reclaim democracy there will have to be a very robust citizen’s movement across the country. That movement will have to create its own media organisation that can be used by citizens to spread the right information,” Bhushan said.

    “Our republic has been brought to the brink and if we do not rise to the challenge the situation will become irretrievable,” he said.

    Khera said Congress alone will not be able to fight this battle to reclaim democracy without the participation of the civil society or the media.

    Jha, the Rajya Sabha member from RJD, said the real challenge was not to realise that there were challenges to democracy in the country.

    Yadav, who heads Swaraj Abhiyan, said when solemn memorial lectures are used to score petty political points one realises something was really wrong with democracy.

    NEW DELHI: Union minister V Muraleedharan on Friday made a slew of suggestions to opposition parties, including on internal democracy and promoting talent, at a seminar and left soon citing “pressing engagements”, sparking protests from other participants.

    The Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs was speaking at a seminar ‘Challenges Before Democracy’ to celebrate the 86th birth anniversary of late M P Veerendra Kumar, a socialist leader and Chairman of the Mathrubhumi Media Group.

    The other speakers at the seminar were senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, Congress spokesman Pawan Khera, RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha, CPI(M) leader John Brittas, BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta and activist Yogendra Yadav.

    “In the present context, the opposition feels that any achievement of India will go into the account of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hence it chooses not to applaud it. Is it good for democracy,” Muraleedharan asked.

    In his 30-minute speech, mostly in Malayalam, Muraleedharan said in a democracy everyone has the right to criticise, but in his home state Kerala, a person could be put in jail for criticising the chief minister.

    In an apparent jibe at the Congress, he said people protest on the roads across the country saying ‘democracy is in peril’ when central government agencies summon a person for questioning following the due process of the law.

    As Muraleedharan began to leave, Khera and Yadav asked him to at least hear the opposition response to the points he had raised in his speech.

    “You call this democracy when the government is not ready to listen to what we have to say? This is not acceptable,” Khera said.

    In his keynote speech, Bhushan said the role of money power in democracy had increased manifold with the introduction of electoral bonds, removal of limit on contributions to political parties by big corporations and allowing subsidiaries of foreign companies to make donations to political parties.

    He also referred to lack of access to justice, delay in court cases and not having competent judges also posed challenges before democracy.

    “If we have to reclaim democracy there will have to be a very robust citizen’s movement across the country. That movement will have to create its own media organisation that can be used by citizens to spread the right information,” Bhushan said.

    “Our republic has been brought to the brink and if we do not rise to the challenge the situation will become irretrievable,” he said.

    Khera said Congress alone will not be able to fight this battle to reclaim democracy without the participation of the civil society or the media.

    Jha, the Rajya Sabha member from RJD, said the real challenge was not to realise that there were challenges to democracy in the country.

    Yadav, who heads Swaraj Abhiyan, said when solemn memorial lectures are used to score petty political points one realises something was really wrong with democracy.

  • RJD’s Tej Pratap threatens to release videos of abuse suffered in marriage

    By PTI

    PATNA: RJD president Lalu Prasad’s mercurial elder son Tej Pratap Yadav, who is caught in a marital dispute, has threatened to wash some dirty linen in public.

    Yadav came out with a video statement, nearly seven minutes long, fulminating against a news portal which had carried a report about his divorce case, apparently presenting him in a poor light.

    “I can come out with countless video clips and other evidence to prove the physical and verbal abuse suffered by me, my parents and my siblings,” said Yadav who claimed to have “maintained silence” ever since he filed a petition seeking divorce four years ago.

    The maverick RJD MLA had tied the knot with Aishwarya Rai, a granddaughter of late former chief minister Daroga Prasad Rai, in May 2018.

    Their union lasted for less than six months.

    Aishwarya stayed on at the house of mother-in-law Rabri Devi, a former CM herself, in an apparent bid to save her marriage before storming out on a rainy winter night, alleging before a posse of journalists that she had been driven out.

    Her father Chandrika Rai vowed to avenge the insult “politically” and quit the RJD to join Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), but failed to retain his pocket borough Parsa assembly seat in 2020.

    Yadav, who remains in news for his mood swings with close party aides and family members at the receiving end, alleged that “the RSS” and “the other side” in his divorce case were hatching a conspiracy to malign him.

    “I too have evidences which I have not shared because these involve a young woman (ladki) which makes the matter sentimental (sic),” said Yadav and warned that he might pull no punches if the smear campaign did not end.

    In the video statement released on Tuesday, he also urged media outlets to abide by a family court order restraining journalists from reporting the divorce case proceedings.

    Yadav and Aishwarya were last seen together at the Patna High Court a month ago for counselling, which is mandatory for all couples seeking divorce.

    PATNA: RJD president Lalu Prasad’s mercurial elder son Tej Pratap Yadav, who is caught in a marital dispute, has threatened to wash some dirty linen in public.

    Yadav came out with a video statement, nearly seven minutes long, fulminating against a news portal which had carried a report about his divorce case, apparently presenting him in a poor light.

    “I can come out with countless video clips and other evidence to prove the physical and verbal abuse suffered by me, my parents and my siblings,” said Yadav who claimed to have “maintained silence” ever since he filed a petition seeking divorce four years ago.

    The maverick RJD MLA had tied the knot with Aishwarya Rai, a granddaughter of late former chief minister Daroga Prasad Rai, in May 2018.

    Their union lasted for less than six months.

    Aishwarya stayed on at the house of mother-in-law Rabri Devi, a former CM herself, in an apparent bid to save her marriage before storming out on a rainy winter night, alleging before a posse of journalists that she had been driven out.

    Her father Chandrika Rai vowed to avenge the insult “politically” and quit the RJD to join Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), but failed to retain his pocket borough Parsa assembly seat in 2020.

    Yadav, who remains in news for his mood swings with close party aides and family members at the receiving end, alleged that “the RSS” and “the other side” in his divorce case were hatching a conspiracy to malign him.

    “I too have evidences which I have not shared because these involve a young woman (ladki) which makes the matter sentimental (sic),” said Yadav and warned that he might pull no punches if the smear campaign did not end.

    In the video statement released on Tuesday, he also urged media outlets to abide by a family court order restraining journalists from reporting the divorce case proceedings.

    Yadav and Aishwarya were last seen together at the Patna High Court a month ago for counselling, which is mandatory for all couples seeking divorce.

  • ‘He brought disgrace to Bihar’: Tejashwi faces ridicule for fumbling before Modi in state assembly

    By PTI

    PATNA: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s faltering speech at a function attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has provided fresh ammunition to his baiters.

    The leader of the opposition had fumbled badly in the course of his address at the Bihar assembly premises here on Tuesday.

    His address had lasted barely 15 minutes.

    State BJP spokesman Arvind Kumar Singh came out with a statement on Wednesday charging the former deputy chief minister with having “brought disgrace to Bihar” and blamed it on Yadav’s “lack of education”, an allusion to his being a high school dropout.

    “On the occasion of Guru Purnima, we salute the teachers of Tejashwi Yadav who does not have enough skills to read out from a text. We can imagine how competent he will be if he comes to power”, Singh said sarcastically.

    The RJD leader was also viciously trolled on social media where users shared portions of the speech where he struggled.

    A sense of unease was visible as Yadav, a fiery orator whenever he speaks extempore, read out from a prepared text though it contained headlines-grabbing points like request for Bharat Ratna for late socialist leader Karpoori Thakur and setting up of a “school of democracy and legislative studies” in Bihar where Vaishali, the seat of the world’s oldest known republic, is located.

    It was the first occasion for the 32-year-old leader to share the dais with the prime minister, who was in the city on Tuesday on the occasion of centenary celebrations of Bihar Assembly.

    Many media outlets have carried unconfirmed reports of Yadav having been chided for his plumpness by the prime minister, who is almost his father Lalu Prasad’s age, with the curt remark “wazan kam karo” (lose some weight).

  • Lalu Prasad being brought to Delhi AIIMS for treatment, says Tejashwi

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: RJD president Lalu Prasad, who was admitted to a Patna hospital with fractures after a fall at his house, is being shifted for better treatment at AIIMS-Delhi where doctors are well-versed with his medical history, his son Tejashwi Yadav said on Wednesday.

    Lalu Prasad suffered fractures in three places, including shoulder, after the fall and complications increased as the body is “locked” and he is unable to move much, Yadav said.

    The 74-year-old former Bihar chief minister was taken ill on Monday and admitted to a private hospital in Patna, less than 24 hours after he suffered the injuries. Sources said Lalu Prasad was in transit and was expected to be admitted to AIIMS in Delhi later in the night.

    Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday visited Lalu Prasad at the Patna hospital and enquired about his health.

    Lalu Prasad’s wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi, who reached Delhi Wednesday, said, “His (Lalu’s) health is slightly better now”.

    In a message to RJD workers and Lalu Prasad’s supporters, Rabri Devi said, “Don’t worry, he is being treated and will recover. Everyone should pray for him that he recovers soon.”

    Speaking with reporters alongside his mother here, Tejashwi Yadav said, “We are bringing him to AIIMS Delhi as better treatment can be done here with the doctors well-versed with his medical history.”

    “He has a fracture in three places after the fall. Complications increased after the fall as the body got locked, he is unable to move much,” the leader of opposition in the Bihar Assembly said.

    “Lalu ji will be brought here and a team of doctors will decide in which ward he will be kept. A check-up, all scans and ultrasound will be done,” Yadav said.

    Out on bail in fodder scam cases, Prasad had last month obtained permission from the Jharkhand High Court for travelling abroad, preferably Singapore, to get a kidney transplant.

    On whether it would be possible to go to Singapore, Tejashwi Yadav said if in 2-4 weeks he can undertake international travel “we may take him to Singapore.”

  • PM Narendra Modi enquires about Lalu Prasad Yadav’s health

    By PTI

    PATNA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday enquired about the health of RJD supremo and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who fractured his right shoulder after suffering a fall at his house in Patna on Sunday.

    According to a statement issued by Chitaranjan Gagan, RJD spokesperson (Bihar), here on Tuesday, “The PM spoke to Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday and enquired about the health of the RJD supremo. The PM wished speedy recovery to RJD chief.”

    The former Bihar chief minister fell down the stairs of his house at 10 Circular Road in Patna on Sunday and had to be rushed to a city hospital.

    The condition of the 74-year-old RJD chief is stated to be stable.

    “Lalu Yadav is undergoing treatment and is being monitored by multiple doctors,” said a senior RJD leader.

  • Tejashwi makes fresh bid to fish in NDA’s troubled waters as he questions ramped up security in state BJP offices

    By PTI

    PATNA: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday made a fresh attempt at fishing in the NDA’s troubled waters in Bihar by questioning the manner in which security for the BJP’s leaders and offices were ramped up in the state in the wake of violent protests against ‘Agnipath’ scheme.

    The leader of the opposition came out with a series of tweets accusing BJP leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi, MPs and MLAs, who have been given “Y” category security, of having no faith in their “own double engine government” but staying in a coalition with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) “just for the sake of power”.

    Yadav also alleged that deployment of central paramilitary forces at BJP offices was made “without taking the state government into confidence” and was tantamount to “assault on the federal structure”.

    BJP offices were torched in more than one districts and houses and cars of Renu Devi, besides party’s state unit president Sanjay Jaiswal and a couple of other MLAs were vandalised during the protests against ‘Agnipath’, the new scheme of recruitment in the armed forces.

    The BJP was obviously flabbergasted by the scale and intensity of the protests and contention of the JD(U) that these were “spontaneous” and not part of a “planned conspiracy” as suggested by the saffron party, had placed the ties between the two parties under strain.

    There have been rumours, neither confirmed nor denied by leaders of the JD(U) or the administration, that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre decided to give “Y” category security to 10 Bihar leaders and deploy personnel of central paramilitary forces at party offices, including the state headquarters here, without consulting the chief minister who also holds the home portfolio.

    Notably, Kumar himself has so far not spoken about ‘Agnipath’, which has come in for criticism by his close aides like JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Prasad Singh and parliamentary board chief Upendra Kushwaha.

    However, a visit to his residence recently by Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who later also declared that the chief minister was NDA’s undisputed leader in Bihar and will complete his five-year-term, was seen as an assuaging tactic by the central BJP leadership which may not like the JD(U), currently its largest ally in the country, to be estranged at this point.

    A softening of stance on part of the JD(U) was apparent during the recently concluded monsoon session of the assembly and ministers belonging to the party criticised, in unison with their BJP colleagues, the opposition’s ruckus over ‘Agnipath’.

    Nonetheless, Yadav, who has been buoyant over his party becoming the single largest group with four MLAs of the AIMIM joining the RJD, has indicated that he will not be sitting on his laurels and continue to keep the ruling NDA, whom he has repeatedly accused of achieving power “through backdoor”, on its toes.

    “The Bihar government should tell us whether the police is so incompetent so as to warrant deployment of central forces at BJP offices?”, tweeted Yadav, in a deft attempt to provoke the JD(U).

    “Did the Centre not attack the federal structure by deploying central forces without taking the state government into confidence,” he asked.

    “BJP leaders in Bihar have taken ‘Y’ category security because they do not trust their own double engine government in the state, the home department here and the police.

    Are these shameless (begairat) and corrupt (bhrasht) people in power just to loot the people?”, asked the former Deputy CM in yet another tweet.

    The term “double engine” is used by BJP leaders to refer to the party being in power at the Centre as well as in a state.

    PTI NAC BDC BDC 07021712 NNNN

  • Four NDA candidates, three of RJD elected unopposed to Bihar council

    By PTI

    PATNA: Seven candidates were on Monday declared elected unopposed to the Bihar legislative council.

    According to the Bihar Vidhan Sabha secretariat, certificates were handed over to the respective candidates, four of whom were fielded by the ruling NDA and the remaining by the opposition RJD.

    The biennial polls have enabled the RJD to raise its tally in the upper house by three.

    The party fielded Mohd Qari Sohaib, Munni Rajak and Ashok Kumar Pandey, a Muslim, a Dalit woman and a Brahmin respectively, in a bid to prove that it cared for all sections of the society.

    In the NDA camp, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) played hard ball and persuaded the BJP to agree to a “50-50 formula” even though the saffron party has many more MLAs than its coalition partner.

    The JD(U) fielded Afaq Ahmed and Ravindra Singh, both national-level office bearers in the party, in a move aimed at boosting the morale of committed workers.

    Moreover, Ahmed’s candidature sends across the message that the JD(U) remains steadfast in its commitment to secularism, the increasing clout of BJP notwithstanding. Singh is a Kurmi, the caste to which the chief minister belongs. His candidature underscores the point that fellow caste men of Kumar, the de-facto leader in the JD(U), will continue to be respected.

    The second-most prominent Kurmi face in the party, Union minister RCP Singh, was recently denied another term in the Rajya Sabha, in a slap on the wrist for the bureaucrat-turned-politician with vaulting ambition.

    The BJP has sought to assuage the Bhumihar community, who have of late grown indifferent towards the party, by fielding Anil Sharma of Jehanabad district. Its other candidate Hari Sahni is a Nishad, a sizeable OBC group which has been miffed with the BJP over the manner in which the saffron party got rid of its former protégé Mukesh Sahani.

    According to saffron camp insiders, lack of support from Bhumihars and Nishads had led to its huge defeat in Bochahan assembly seat where by-election was held a couple of months ago.

  • Lalu Prasad calls upon people to fight against communalism and inequality

    Express News Service

    PATNA: RJD chief and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad on Sunday asserted that it was high time people should stand up and fight against communalism and inequality with full commitments.

    Thanking people for greeting him on his 75th birthday, Lalu said, “Not lack of resources but the absence of strong will weakens the fight for justice. I appeal to the people of Bihar and the country to take resolve and emerge as a strong voice against communalism and inequality so that justice could be meted out to each and every poor, deprived and oppressed person.”

    Posting a comment in social media thanking people, Lalu said, “The country will move forward only when poor and deprived people progress. The stronger their voice, the more developed the country will be. I kept fighting for justice throughout his life and now it is high time to stand up and fight for it.”

    Lalu also thanked his party workers for distributing food, ration, reading material, planting trees and organising blood donation camps on the occasion of his birthday. 

    RJD had celebrated Lalu`s 75th birthday on Saturday.

    Lalu and his elder son Tej Pratap also distributed books among children to mark the birthday celebration. 

    While releasing a released the book ‘Gareebo Ka Maseeha’ (Messiah of the poor) written by him, the RJD supremo urged workers of the party to spread the ‘socialist perspective’ and thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, B R Ambedkar, Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia and Karpoori Thakur.

    Earlier, Lalu had said that the country was heading toward civil war due to the wrong policies of the central government. 

    “The way BJP is working, the country is heading towards civil war. I call upon people to unite against inflation, unemployment and corruption in the country. We have to fight united and we will win,” he had said while addressing a function virtually on ‘Sampoorna Kranti Diwas’ last week.