Congress urges Nitish to resolve row over new law minister

The CPI-ML (Liberation), a constituent of the ruling alliance, has also demanded reconsideration of the RJD leader’s induction into the cabinet.

The Congress, a key constituent of the new ruling alliance in Bihar, has urged chief minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav to take necessary steps over the controversy that erupted over the recent appointment of RJD leader Kartik Kumar as the law minister in the Grand Alliance government.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar inspects a paddy field in Sheikhpura on Saturday. (Santosh Kumar)

The BJP, which was ousted from power in the state earlier this month when CM Kumar’s party JD(U) snapped ties with it and formed a new government in alliance with RJD, Congress and other parties, has demanded his removal from the cabinet, alleging that an arrest warrant is pending against him in a 2014 kidnapping case, in which former Mokama MLA Anant Singh is also an accused.

The CPI-ML (Liberation), a constituent of the ruling alliance, has also demanded reconsideration of the RJD leader’s induction into the cabinet.

“Both Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav should understand the gravity of the case against RJD leader Kartik Kumar. A discussion is needed over the issue and necessary steps must be taken by the CM and his deputy. I must say that remaining consecutively absent from the court proceedings or avoiding summons is not good. The controversy that has erupted over his induction is unwarranted. Immediate action is required to resolve the matter,” AICC Bihar in-charge Bhakta Charan Das told PTI.

The Congress leader said he will visit Patna on August 24 and his party leaders will discuss the matter with Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav.

The chief minister, when earlier asked whether Kartik Kumar will continue in his cabinet, had said that the government was looking into the matter.

Differences have emerged within the alliance government over Kartik Kumar’s induction into the cabinet, with the CPI-ML (Liberation) demanding reconsideration of the decision.

The Grand Alliance in Bihar at present comprises seven parties — JD (U), RJD, Congress, CPI-ML (Liberation), CPI, CPI (M) and HAM — which together have more than 160 MLAs in the 243-member assembly.

The BJP has demanded that Kartik Kumar be removed from the cabinet, alleging that a kidnapping case is pending against him.

Demanding his dismissal, senior BJP leader Sushil Modi wondered how someone “who was supposed to surrender before a court in connection with a kidnapping case got inducted into the state cabinet”. The BJP alleged that Kartik Kumar was supposed to surrender before Danapur court on August 16, but instead, he showed up at the Raj Bhavan to take oath as a minister.

Dismissing the BJP’s allegations, RJD, however, has maintained that Kumar has been granted interim protection till September 1 by the court.