JP’s disciples joined hands with Cong: Shah lashes out at Nitish

Shah said, “Leaders who achieved success through the JP movement are today sitting in the Congress’ lap for power.”

On the day of Jayaprakash Narayan’s 120th birth anniversary, Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday hit out at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for allying with the Congress, recalling the socialist leader’s battles with Congress prime minister Indira Gandhi. Shah, on his second visit to Bihar since the realignment in the state’s politics that saw the Nitish Kumar led JDU walk out of its alliance with the BJP and form government in an alliance with the RJD and the Congress, was speaking at Narayan’s village of Sitab Diara, where he unveiled a 14 foot high statue commemorating him.

Union home minister Amit Shah pays tribute to Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan after unveiling the statue in Sitab Diara, Bihar. (HT Photo)

Shah said, “Leaders who achieved success through the JP movement are today sitting in the Congress’ lap for power. I ask the people of Bihar, are you with them?..JP never did anything for power and worked for his principles all his life. Today, people who switch sides for power five times are Chief Ministers of Bihar.”

The legacy of Jayaprakash Narayan has for long been significant in Bihar, with an entire generation of leaders from both the JD(U), the RJD and even the BJP products of his brand of socialism, and the battle against the Emergency that he led. Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad, and Sushil Modi can all trace their political beginnings to the socialist movement of the seventies.

“The importance of JP’s ideology for parties is to cover up the idealism to do their Machiavellian politics which doesn’t accept values, can resort to any means to get and retain power, and to cover up the sectarian politics in the name of JP. The biggest thing against which JP fought — corruption — today no party is untouched. Social transformation has been reduced to casteism,” said political expert Nawal Kishore Chowdhary, who himself had taken part in JP movement.

Shah referenced Narayan’s battle with Indira Gandhi, and through her the Congress, and said, “In 1973, under Indira ji’s leadership, Gujarat had a Congress government with Chiman Patel as Chief Minister. Indira ji publicly gave the task of collecting money to governments and there was corruption. Students in Gujarat protested and this agitation was led by JP. It changed the government in Gujarat,” said Shah.

Shah said that Narayan’s movement in Bihar perturbed Gandhi. “Seeing this movement and the rally at Gandhi Maidan in Bihar, Indira Gandhi was disturbed. The Prime Minister of the nation was forced to impose Emergency in the country and put JP in jail,” he said.

Shah was accompanied on his trip by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath who too targeted the Grand Alliance government. “There is no dearth of merit among the people of Bihar. The people here have immense potential. But the youth here are helpless because of people doing politics in the name of JP and Lohia,” he said.

“JP was strongly opposed to the criminalization of politics. Until a few years ago, politics was criminalized in Uttar Pradesh. The youths of Bihar have a sharp brain, but corruption has stopped the talent of Bihar from progressing,” he said.

Adityanath said that the government of Uttar Pradesh that he runs would work to make Bihar flood free. Sitab Diara is situated on the confluence of rivers Ganga and Ghaghara and floods and erosion are an annual feature here.

Adityanath’s comments come five days after Nitish Kumar wrote a letter to his UP counterpart where he had said to expedite embankment strengthening, anti-erosion and roads work on the portion of Sitab Diara falling in UP side.

Kumar himself sought to make light of Amit Shah’s visit and said, “Whoever comes and goes, it does not affect me (koi aae ya jaae humko koi fark nahin padta hai).” The chief minister on Tuesday visited Nagaland to attend a function at Dimapur, a state where Narayan spent three months in the 1960’s.

“The Congress principle has been the same as those followed by JP and Lohia whereas BJP never followed the principles of JP. It would have been good had Amit Shah talked about Bihar’s development,” said Rajesh Rathor, Congress spokesperson.