Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case: Differences in Congress and RJD over demand for Nitish's resignation

It appears that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress party are not on the same page over demanding resignation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in connection Muzaffapur shelter home rape case. While the RJD is gunning for the Chief Minister, the Congress reportedly wants the resignation of only Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma.

Pointing that Nitish Kumar had resigned as Union Railways Minister taking moral responsibility of Gaisal rail disaster, RJD leader Professor Chandrashekhar said, “Nitish Kumar had resigned in the Vajpayee government taking moral responsibility for Gaisal train accident. Now 34 girls were raped under his nose, so he should take moral responsibility for the same and resign.”

However, the Congress believes that the time has not yet come for Nitish Kumar to quit. According to Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan, Nitish Kumar should for now make Manju Verma resign.

Besides, there are dissenting voices among the RJD as well on the issue. Gayaghat MLA Maheshwar Yadav, who is a member of the RJD, has said that Nitish Kumar is not at fault in Muzaffarpur shelter home case, instead the government was doing a good job is getting the culprits punished.

The RJD leader said that the demand of the opposition parties for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) weakened the case.

Meanwhile, the BJP has rallied behind Nitish Kumar and Manju Verma, saying there was no need for them to resign over the case. Taking to Twitter, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said that there were no charges against Manju Verma and the BJP stood in support of the minister.

This comes just days after the RJD organised a massive protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital over the issue. The protest was spearheaded by RJD leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and joined by other opposition leaders, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, among others.