The escalating rift between the coalition partners ruling Bihar — the JD(U) and the Congress — cast a shadow on the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Congress MP Ranjit Ranjan protested in the House over the alleged arrest of her husband, MP Rajesh Ranjan, by the Bihar police on Tuesday.
Rajesh, also known as Pappu Yadav, is a former RJD MP. He was expelled by the party in 2015 after which he floated his own outfit, the Jan Adhikar Party (JAP).
He was arrested during a demonstration by the JAP outside chief minister Nitish Kumar’s residence organised to protest against a hike in power tariff and to demand a CBI probe into the Bihar Staff Selection Commission question paper leak case.
“If someone wants to expose shortcomings of the Nitish Kumar government, what’s wrong in it? Should the protestors be threatened in this way so that no one dares to raise voice against the government in future,” she asked.
Ranjit narrated how, despite being an MP, her husband was being ill-treated by the police. “The DSP told him, we will thrash you today.”
The JD(U), RJD and Congress had formed the government in Bihar in 2015 after RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his bête noire Nitish Kumar mended fences to take on the BJP. But the parties have failed to come on the same page on many issues, prompting experts to wonder how long this fragile alliance will continue.
{{/usCountry}}The JD(U), RJD and Congress had formed the government in Bihar in 2015 after RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his bête noire Nitish Kumar mended fences to take on the BJP. But the parties have failed to come on the same page on many issues, prompting experts to wonder how long this fragile alliance will continue.
{{/usCountry}}Amid protests from JD(U) MPs, Ranjit claimed that in a democracy peaceful protests outside the governor’s house or the chief minister’s residence couldn’t be construed as a crime.
“He was detained for eight hours,” said Ranjit.