RJD leaders blame lack of say in govt for attacks at CM

Insiders say RJD, the largest ruling alliance constituent with 79 MLAs, against 43 of CM Kumar’s Janata Dal-United (JD-U), is now getting impatient for more clout in the government and is not happy over being ignored in key administrative decisions.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders have blamed their lack of say in the government to growing instances of attack by party leaders at chief minister Nitish Kumar, which threaten to cast a shadow over the ruling grand alliance in the Bihar.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar visits stalls after inaugurating Bihar Start-Up B-Hub at Maurya Lok Complex in Patna on Wednesday. (Santosh Kumar/HT Photo)

In January, former agriculture minister Sudhakar Singh launched a tirade against chief minister Kumar. More recently, former Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary, who is RJD’s national vice president, called the coalition government as “langri sarkar (lame government)”, underlining that RJD does not have full powers in governance. Choudhary has also sought withdrawal of liquor ban in the state.

Bhai Virendra, an RJD MLA, recently demanded that their leader, deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, be made the CM soon.

RJD hasn’t acted against any of its leaders, barring Singh.

Insiders say RJD, the largest ruling alliance constituent with 79 MLAs, against 43 of CM Kumar’s Janata Dal-United (JD-U), is now getting impatient for more clout in the government and is not happy over being ignored in key administrative decisions.

A senior RJD leader, not willing to be identified, said his party was keen on appointment of senior IPS officer Alok Raj as the state’s director general of police (DGP), but the state government appointed CM Kumar’s choice, R S Bhatti, to the top police post. Raj was also in the shortlist of officers eligible as state police chief which the Bihar government had sent to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

“Ministers from RJD, including the deputy CM, have not had their way in getting the officers of their choice appointed as secretaries and principal secretaries in their respective departments since the grand alliance government was formed in August last year,” the leader said.

Another point of contention for RJD is the delay in filling up of vacancies in boards and corporations by the government.

There are total of 38 such bodies headed by state government appointees, of which 25 posts are vacant, officials said. This includes State Pollution Control Board and State Women’s Commission. Despite several requests by RJD, the issue has not been taken up, a leader in the alliance said.

The delay in finalising appointments to the 20-point committees at the block level and the subdivisional level, meant for monitoring implementation of government programmes, is said to be sore point for RJD. The members of these committees are often political appointees.

There is also confusion in bureaucracy. A senior official, not willing to be identified, said the functioning of the state bureaucracy had slow downed in the past few months owing to the perception at senior and middle level that there would be a transfer of power sooner or later and deputy CM could be elevated as CM this year.

For the record, however, both parties were emphatic in rejecting any talk of a strain on the ruling alliance.

“Some people in the party have a tendency to talk too much and indulge in sycophancy. This is wrong. There is no friction between RJD and JD(U) or within allies in the mahagathbandhan (grand alliance),” said RJD national general secretary Shyam Rajak.

Bhola Yadav, a former MLA and close aide of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, aired similar sentiments.

JD-U’s chief spokesperson and MLC, Neeraj Kumar said, “Chief minister Nitish Kumar is the leader of the grand alliance and good governance has been his USP. There is no dispute between the allies on the style of functioning of the government.”

The opposition BJP, however, said continuing attacks by RJD leaders at CM Kumar reflected a growing distrust between the two allies.

“The conflict, confusion and bickering are visible everywhere. RJD leaders are aggrieved that in transfer and posting of officers, their opinion is never heard or addressed by the CM,” said Nikhil Anand, state spokesperson of the BJP.