Dr. Abdul Ruff
Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar has dramatically taken oath as the chief minister of the northern Indian state of Bihar, a day after dramatically resigning from the post. Nitish has scripted and directed the episode to make himself look like a ‘Mr. Clean’ of course in the world of corrupt politicians. Bihar is one worst affected by corrupt politicians. How far Nitish could change the corruption scenario during his tenure as CM – remains a mystery.
The Bihar CM needs this dramatic step to bet his domestic foes -mainly his new foe Lalu Prasad Yadav with whose poll alliance he won the state elections and became the CM as a typical candidate for the same against the wish and will of the BJP and PM Modi but now they are his ‘beloved” comrades.
Nitish Kumar was sworn-in as Bihar Chief Minister, while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Modi took oath as Bihar Deputy Chief Minister. The RJD man Tejaswi has been shunted, angering his father, Lalu Prasad. Nitish had been insisting that either RJD give a clarification on the CBI case against Tejashwi, regarding a land-for-contract scam, or Tejashwi should step down on moral grounds. Lalu also reiterated his stand that Tejashwi Yadav’s resignation is out of the question.
Nitish Kumar resigned as Chief Minister of Bihar citing irreconcilable differences with ally RJD. He said he “knocked every door” to salvage the alliance but in vain. Modi tweeted lauding Nitish Kumar for dropping corrupt parties led by Congress and “joining the fight against corruption.”
BJP announced support for JD (U) and Nitish Kumar as chief minister. The party also adds that it will be part of the government. BJP leader Sushil Modi will be the deputy chief minister of Bihar and will take the oath will Nitish on Thursday. Lalu Prasad Yadav says Nitish had “betrayed” him. He stated that Nitish was afraid of his son Tejashwi’s rise in politics.
Nitish took oath as Chief Minister of Bihar; BJP’s Sushil Modi back as his deputy. News reports suggest that the BJP has handed over a list of 14 MLAs for ministerial posts. However, other ministers will take oath only after the trust vote, which is scheduled for Friday the July 28.
A stung Lalu, in a dramatic press conference, claims that Nitish’s decision to break the alliance is because he is facing trial for murdering a man in 1991. He accused Kumar of working slyly with the BJP-led NDA to destabilize the coalition.
Tejashwi Yadav sought an appointment with governor saying that he will also stake claim to form the next government. Tejashwi Yadav marched to the governor’s house while Lalu requested the governor to postpone the oath-taking ceremony but drew a blank.
In Bihar Lalu and Nitish fought elections against formidable BJP alliance in 2015 and won. Now the Grand alliance is breaking down as BJP has stepped up to use a pro-Hindutva pretending leader Nitish. Kumar said on Wednesday that he had to resign because of corruption probes against the leaders of his alliance partner, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Kumar has found a new partner in PM Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which he defeated in 2015 in a bitterly contested state election.
The RJD has accused Nitish of “betrayal.” Former chief minister and federal minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, who leads the RJD, said Kumar had colluded with the BJP to tarnish his party’s image.
Yadav and his son Tejaswi, who was the deputy chief minister in Kumar’s government, are being investigated for corruption by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation. They have denied any wrongdoing.
Kumar told reporters that he had a “zero tolerance” policy on corruption, and had asked his deputy to explain the charges against him to the public. He added that Mr. Yadav refused to follow his advice.
Kumar’s new stint also marks his return to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). His party voted for BJP’s presidential candidate while RJD’s MPs and MLAs supported the Congress led UPA candidate and lost.
Interestingly, Nitish had quit the NDA in 2013 citing differences with the BJP’s decision to announce Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections.Now they are “friends.” PM Modi has quickly praised Nitish for his “honesty” in standing up to corruption.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi MP attacked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying he defied secular mandate for personal gain. He said the party knew that it was being planned for the last three to four months,” said Rahul Gandhi speaking to media. Stating that the mandate was given to Nitish ji for the anti-communal fight, Rahul added, “But now he (Nitish) has joined hands with them (BJP) for his politics.” The Congress leader also attacked Nitish Kumar saying, people can do anything to be in power.
Earlier in the day, the Congress aimed potshots at Nitish Kumar and dubbed his resignation and collaboration with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as ‘disappointing.’ Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh questioned Kumar that was he not aware of Lalu and his family before he agreed to be a part of the grand alliance.
Meanwhile, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav fired a sardonic salvo on Bihar’s political upheaval, where senior Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar has severed ties with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and is ready to form next government with his former ally- the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Son of former CM and former Union military minister Mulayam Singh, Akhilesh mocked Nitish Kumar and said that the latter could not resist separation from his former ally.
The Congress was too late, maybe deliberately, to rush its senior leader CP Joshi to Patna to explore the possibility of calling a meeting with JD (U), RJD and Congress legislatures to chalk out the possibility of forming a new government and saving the alliance. A senior Congress leader admitted that there was already a high degree of trust deficit with Nitish after he ditched Meira Kumar to support Ram Nath Kovind as a presidential candidate. “We know political blackmail and witch-hunt are part of Narendra Modi’s strategy to break Opposition unity, and Nitish has fallen into the trap,” said a senior Congress leader. He stated that Nitish has been engaging with the BJP central leadership over the past few days at a time when communication with Lalu had virtually collapsed. If there is no suspicion about the JD (U)’s intentions, various ways could have been explored to save the coalition. JD (U) leader Neeraj Kumar said that there was no question of compromising on corruption.
With Congress party reeling under the corruption image, its leader and vice-president Rahul Gandhi still to find acceptability as a leader of any potential grouping, Nitish was an ideal choice due to his “impeccable” image.
Even though when it was believed that Nitish was in secret talks with the BJP, political observers question the role of the Congress, which could have saved the alliance. Since Saturday, when he arrived here, Nitish met Rahul twice, asking him to impress upon the RJD to withdraw deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav from the government or at least explain allegations leveled in the CBI FIR. Failing, he put last hopes on Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who during the UPA-II regime, was instrumental in removing many central ministers after allegations surfaced against them. But she had indicated that sacking a minister by a FIR didn’t appear reasonable against the backdrop of the BJP’s refusal to drop any of its tainted leaders. When Tejashwi met her at the insistence of his father, she did express worry about the fate of the alliance but didn’t appreciate Nitish’s “stubborn” attitude.
The Congress has 27 MLAs, all of whom have come out in vocal support of RJD leaders.
BJP leaders call it Nitish’s ‘Ghar Wapsi’ and hope to give a stable and capable government in Bihar. Opposition leaders, cutting across many divides, were looking at Nitish to repeat the magic of VP Singh, who had in 1989 successfully ousted Rajiv Gandhi from power.
Though the CBI raids and corruption cases against Lalu and his clan triggered Mahagathbandhan’s demise, the JD (U) and BJP leaders had begun secret talks in March itself.
Nitish Kumar’s walking out of Bihar’s Grand Alliance extinguished the flicker of hope in the secular camp to take on the BJP-led NDA under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2019 general elections.