Nitish Kumar Party MLA Threatens To Resign As Colleague Gets Cabinet Berth

Leshi Singh is repeatedly involved in incidents in her area, alleged Bima Bharti. (File)

Patna:

All is seemingly not well within the newly sworn-in Bihar government with Janata Dal (United) MLA Bima Bharti taking a dig at her party colleague and five-time MLA Leshi Singh, who was inducted as the State Minister of Food and Consumer Protection.

Ms Bharti is apparently upset at not being included in the Cabinet while Ms Singh was inducted as a minister for the third time during Tuesday’s expansion.

“I’m upset with only JDU MLA Leshi Singh that she’s always chosen in the Cabinet. What does the Chief Minister see in her? She is repeatedly involved in incidents in her area; brings disrepute against the party. Why are we not heard? Is it because we’re from a backward caste?,” said JDU MLA Bima Bharti.

“If she is not removed from the post of minister, I will resign from the party. If my allegation against her is wrong then I will resign as an MLA,” Bharti said.

Meanwhile, Union Power Minister RK Singh on Wednesday attacked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the induction of Kartikeya Singh in his cabinet and said the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) legislator has been made law minister though he faces an arrest warrant in a kidnapping case.

He said the Chief Minister should apologise to people over Kartikeya Singh’s induction. The Union minister further alleged that there’s “Jungle Raj Part-2 in Bihar”.

“We are also from Bihar and we are ashamed. Jungle raj part-2 is back in Bihar. Should Law Minister be an absconder and that too in the case of kidnapping? How has Kartikeya Singh been made law minister who is the right hand of Anant Singh, who is a don?,” said RK Singh.

Leshi Singh had on Tuesday thanked Nitish Kumar for offering her a ministerial berth and stated that the Mahagathbandhan government will do well.

“I thank the Chief Minister for giving me a berth in his cabinet and making a worker like me, a minister. I also thank the people who have brought me here. Mahagathbandhan government will work well, the pace of development will increase and work will be firmly done,” Ms Singh had told news agency ANI.

“There will be no difference (between party’s alliance with RJD and that with BJP) as the leader (Nitish Kumar) is the same. Work will be done well. Nitish Kumar will take Bihar to new heights,” she said.

Leshi Singh (JDU), a fifth-term MLA from the Dhamdaha seat, has been given the charge of the Food and Consumer Protection ministry.

On Tuesday, 31 ministers were sworn into the Bihar cabinet, including 16 from RJD, 11 from JDU, two from Congress, one from Hindustani Awam Morch (HAM) and an Independent lawmaker.

Nitish Kumar has kept the crucial Home department with himself and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav has taken charge of the Health department in the first Cabinet expansion of the newly formed Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar.