NEW DELHI: The Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) government of Bihar is facing rough weather following the belligerent posture adopted by ruling RJD MLA Sudhakar Singh against chief minister Nitish Kumar.
Sudhakar, son of Bihar RJD president Jagdanand Singh, was forced to resign as agriculture minister in October last year for speaking against his own government, particularly against Nitish. He has kept firing salvos at the CM since then.
In the latest attack, the former minister likened Nitish to ‘Shikhandi’, a transgender character in the Mahabharat, and said he would not be remembered in history after he stepped down from the CM’s post.
"People will not remember him (Nitish) once he steps down. Nitish has done nothing great for the state. There are people like former CMs - late Krishna Sinha and Karpoori Thakur - who will always be remembered by the people of Bihar for their contribution. The same is the case with our leader and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad ji, who has done a lot for the state. But Nitish Kumar's name will not be there in history. He will not be remembered at all. He is like 'Shikhandi', who has no standing of his own," Sudhakar had said while speaking to mediapersons on January 2.
Lalu Prasad-headed RJD, JD(U), the Congress and some other parties are jointly governing Bihar after Nitish broke away from the BJP in August last year. His JD(U) forged a post-poll alliance with RJD, the Congress and smaller parties such as former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi-led HAM(S).
Nitish chose to downplay Sudhakar’s disparaging comments against him. He said, “It is for them (RJD) to take note as I don't pay any attention to such remarks.”
However, Lalu’s son and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav seems to have taken a serious view of the unsavoury comments. Responding to questions from mediapersons in Delhi, Tejashwi, without naming Sudhakar, said, “Whosoever was making comments was working on a BJP agenda.”
Sudhakar had contested the 2010 Bihar assembly election from Ramgarh constituency on a BJP ticket. However, he came third – after Ambika Singh of RJD who won and independent candidate Ashok Kumar Singh.
Sudhakar won the 2020 assembly election from the same Ramgarh seat, but this time on an RJD ticket, and was appointed agriculture minister before being made to resign.
Now both JD(U) and RJD leaders are demanding disciplinary action against Sudhakar in order to save the Mahagathbandhan government. The BJP, on its part, says it has nothing to do with the development.
JD(U)
Nitish may not have reacted sharply, at least in public, but his party leaders have taken strong exception to the young RJD MLA’s uncharitable remarks against the CM.
Airing views similar to Tejashwi, JD(U) national spokesperson KC Tyagi alleged that Sudhakar was hand in glove with the BJP. “There is no place for someone like Sudhakar Singh in the coalition arrangement. Jagdanand Singh has been told that this will not work. It does not appear that Sudhakar will remain in RJD for long. I will not be surprised if he is ousted from his party,” he told TOI.
He said the coalition was functioning smoothly. Nitish has already declared that the coalition will contest the 2025 assembly election under the leadership of Tejashwi.
“Every equation is crystal clear. The coalition should become stronger and more cohesive. The way JD(U) functionaries do not say anything against any RJD leader, including Lalu and Tejashwi, they too should do the same with our leaders,” Tyagi added.
On the reason why RJD was not taking action against Sudhakar, Tyagi said it was for that party to decide.
RJD
Talking to TOI, senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari said Sudhakar’s remarks were a threat to the Mahagathbandhan government if the coalition partners had to stay together.
He said, “The supporters of both parties will react to such remarks. They will have to remain united and work together on the ground. Such remarks can be problematic because the social segments of the supporters of both the parties are different.”
Asked why no disciplinary action was being initiated against Sudhakar, Tiwari said he was not in a position to comment on this. However, he added: “Tejashwi or Jagdanand Singh may throw light on this aspect. Jagdanand Singh is a strict disciplinarian. He has to enforce discipline but he is silent. The outcome of all this does not augur well for the government.”
BJP
The BJP has also come into the picture as Tejashwi has alleged that Sudhakar was an agent of that party.
However, the party has shrugged off such an innuendo.
Talking to TOI, Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal said the party did not have anything to do in the controversy. He came down heavily on Nitish though.
“Nitish is a master manipulator. He is blaming the BJP and trying to stifle the voices which are speaking against the Grand Alliance. He manages these things pretty well. His mentality is like that of a dictator. He likes anyone who is against the BJP,” he said.
Jaiswal, a Lok Sabha MP from West Champaran, alleged that Nitish always tries to harm his coalition partner. “He tried to finish RJD in 2016 and BJP in 2022. He has given hopes to Tejashwi that he would be on the chair after him in 2025. However, he will sing a different tune in 2025. But he will not be able to have his way in 2025 as the BJP will come to power,” he said.
The Bihar BJP chief denied that Sudhakar was in talks with his party. Asked whether the RJD MLA would join the BJP if he was expelled from RJD, he said, “Tejashwi will be with the BJP in 2025.
BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan also targetted the Bihar CM. “Nitish has been uncomfortable since the inception of this alliance. And the assertions that Sudhakar is hobnobbing with the BJP are unfounded and irrational. As Sudhakar’s father is state president of RJD, there is no possibility of an interface between the RJD MLA and the BJP.”
He further said, “Based on Tejashwi Yadav’s whims and fancies and the incompetence of the alliance to sustain their unholy alliance, which is only based on a matter of convenience. The alliance lacks any coherent ideological affinity. This is an unnatural alliance purely based on pursuance of power.”
Asked why no action was being taken against Sudhakar, Paswan said it was because RJD wanted to keep Nitish in a complicated situation. “If you look at them, governance is the last priority for them. People are dying,” he said, referring to the recent death of 71 people in the spurious liquor tragedy in the state’s Saran district.
