JDU-BJP rift widening? Bihar CM Nitish Kumar calls party meet after giving PM-led event a miss

PATNA: Amid rumours of fresh conflict with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called a meeting of all party legislators and parliamentarians on Tuesday to discuss the future course of action. The move comes after the Bihar CM announced that his party will not join the Union Council of Ministers. Kumar had earlier skipped the NITI Aayog meeting on Sunday which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

JD (U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, who addressed a press conference, however, dismissed queries about Kumar's absence at the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the terse remark you should ask the chief minister.

While there has been no official word on the reason behind Kumar's absence, sources close to the chief minister said he has excused himself citing post-Covid-19 debility. Lalan, who was regarded as a frontrunner by some for a ministerial berth from the JD(U) after RCP Singh's resignation, clarified that the party wasn't willing to have any representative in the Union Council of Ministers.

“We had decided in 2019, after the Lok Sabha polls, not to join the government at the Centre. We stick to that stand even now,” he said. “The decision not to join the Union government was taken by our leader Nitish Kumar who was then also the party's national president,” said Lalan.

When pointed out that RCP became a minister in 2021, he shot back, “You should ask him (RCP) who was the national president at that time. He did not take anybody in the loop while arriving at the decision."

Lalan also sought to make light of the exit, from the party, of RCP Singh, who resigned from the Union Cabinet recently after being denied another Rajya Sabha term. It may be recalled that RCP Singh quit the party on Saturday after the JDU sent him a notice over corruption allegations. Following his resignation, RCP Singh called JDU “a sinking ship”.

In response, Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh hit back saying, “The JDU isn't a sinking ship, it's a sailing ship, some people are trying to damage it. Nitish Kumar identified those who were trying to damage it and took steps to mend it.”

(With Agency Inputs)