Chief minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar Reprimanded JDU MLA Bima Bharti for raising questions on the inclusion of Leshi Singh in the cabinet and said that the MLA will be properly informed by the party.
Bharti was angry with the party for electing her cabinet colleague Leshi Singh and threatened to resign over the matter. Singh has been a minister for many years. Both the women were elected from the adjoining assembly constituencies of Purnia district.
Talking to reporters outside a hospital, an angry Kumar said he was shocked by Bharti’s reaction as Singh had been a minister three times before. He said that it is not possible to include everyone in the cabinet.
“Not everyone can be given a post in the cabinet. We have already given him (Leshi Singh) posts in 2013, 2014 and 2019. I am surprised that he (Bima Bharti) has given such a statement. We’ll talk about this. He should not have said this, it is absolutely wrong,” Kumar said.
#watch , We have given him (Leshi Singh) a post in our cabinet in 2013, 2014 and 2019. I am surprised that she (Bima Bharti) has given such a statement, she was a minister in 2014 and 2019. Meet him and discuss about it: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on JDU MLA Bima Bharti’s statement! pic.twitter.com/rGK0oVxsse
— ANI (@ANI) 18 August 2022
In a veiled allegation, Bharti asked whether the Chief Minister had passed him because he belonged to a backward caste. He further said that Singh was elected despite bringing “insult” to the party.
“I am always upset with only JDU MLA Leshi Singh being elected to the cabinet. What does CM see in that? She repeatedly participates in the events of her area and brings disrepute to the party. Why are we not heard? Is it because we belong to a backward caste?” Bharti asked.
She said: “If Leshi Singh is not removed, I will resign from the party. If my allegation against him is false then I will resign from the post of MLA.
Kumar said Bharti’s statements were unfair as the party has given her a lot of respect and she was a minister in the cabinet twice. But, she also issued a warning saying that if she could not see the reason then she could go elsewhere.
“We will talk to him (Bharti) and try to persuade him not to make such statements about the party,” he said. If she doesn’t understand and wants to go somewhere else, she can think about it,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, Leshi Singh has not reacted to Bharti’s comments against him. He took oath as the Minister of Food and Consumer Protection on 16 August. Singh is an MLA from Dhamdaha assembly and has held the post of minister for the fourth time.
The CM also said that he had asked Bharti to meet him on Thursday about the cabinet, but he had refused. So, he said, he had to make a public statement about the “unnecessary” controversy.
This is not the first controversy after Kumar broke ties with the BJP and joined hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress to form a new government.
Law minister Kartikeya Singh, one of the 31 cabinet members who took oath, is facing kidnapping cases since 2014. Kumar said his government was “taking care” of the matter.
RJD MLC Kartikeya also has close ties with jailed don Anant Singh and is believed to be his right hand. RJD leader from Mokama, known as ‘Chhote Sarkar’, lost his seat two months ago after being sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Alleging the return of Jungle Raj, the BJP said it was under the influence of Anant Singh that Kartikeya was made a minister in the new government. The saffron party has demanded his sacking from the post of minister as there was an arrest warrant against him. On 16 August, Kartikeya did not attend the hearing of the case to attend his swearing-in ceremony.
But, Nitish Kumar rubbished the BJP’s allegations of jungle raj and said Kartikeya’s controversy is being looked into for appropriate action.
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