Nitish dumps Lalu, back with NDA

Tribune News Service

Patna, July 26

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today dropped a political bombshell by resigning   amid mounting pressure over the continuation of “tainted” Deputy CM Tejaswi Prasad Yadav of the RJD, the JD-U coalition partner.

The move earned him  praise from the PM. Within hours, Bihar BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi announced support for Nitish. With the BJP Parliamentary Board deciding against mid-term polls, party state chief Nityanand Rai submitted to Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi a letter of support for Nitish.

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Later in the evening, Nitish, accompanied by leaders of his former alliance partner, submitted to the Governor a list of MLAs supporting him, thereby sealing his return to the NDA fold. The swearing-in would take place tomorrow, a senior NDA leader said.

Stumped, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said the Governor should invite his party, the single largest, to form the next government. Tejaswi added the RJD would meet the Governor and stake claim to form the government. 

Earlier in the day, portraying himself as having been pushed into a corner with Lalu adamant that his son, whose name figures in a corruption case, would not quit, Nitish sought to ring-fence the JD-U and his own image as one of having zero-tolerance towards corruption.

“As far as possible, I followed the principles of grand alliance and strived hard to save it. After graft charges were levelled against RJD leaders, we asked them to clear their stand. But they did not do so. As it became impossible for me to work with my ally, I resigned from the post in the interest of the people of Bihar,” Nitish said after submitting his resignation to the Governor.

The move comes two days ahead of the monsoon session of the Assembly. The state BJP had promised to make it a stormy affair.

The CBI on  July 7 had booked Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejaswi in a land-for-hotel case and carried out raids at Lalu’s residence in Patna. “We met Tejaswi, asking him to clear his stand. We also met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. When nothing happened, we decided to keep ourselves away from the government,” the JD-U leader said.

 “When we supported Ram Nath Kovind for presidentship, we faced severe criticism. We also faced criticism for  supporting surgical strikes against Pakistan. When the Centre announced demonetisation,  we supported it and demanded strict laws against ‘benami’ property. There has been no communication gap with the RJD,” Nitish said.

Image-conscious, he had removed four of his Cabinet colleagues in his previous government after their names figured in corruption cases. Former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi too had to resign over graft charges. 

Minutes after Nitish’s announcement, PM Narendra Modi  tweeted: “Join in the fight against corruption Nitish Kumar-ji, many many congratulations.  125 crore citizens  welcome and support  honesty. For the country, especially Bihar’s bright future to rise above political differences and fight against corruption, is the demand of country and time.”

Shah to contest RS poll from Gujarat

New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah will contest the biennial election to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat. Currently a legislator in Gujarat, he will make his debut in Parliament once he is elected, given the numbers the ruling BJP enjoys in the state Assembly. Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani, currently an RS MP from Gujarat, has been re-nominated for the other seat. PTI