PATNA: A day after Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha requested Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to transfer the JD(U) leadership to his son Nishant Kumar, the leader of Opposition in the Bihar legislative council and former chief minister Rabri Devi on Monday made a similar demand.
Talking to the media in the assembly premises on the first day of the Monsoon session of the state legislature, Rabri expressed her strong displeasure over rising incidents of crime across the state and said if Nitish was finding himself unable to run the government, he should hand over the responsibility to his son for the sake of the people.
“The Nitish Kumar-led NDA government has not been able to check crime. Law and order machinery has completely collapsed in the state. Since Nitish is also holding the home portfolio and he is not willing to resign from the post, he should at least hand over the responsibility to his son, who is young and will own the responsibility,” she told the media.
The law and order situation in the state rocked the state assembly on the first day of the Monsoon session, which is the last session being held under the NDA government as assembly elections are due in October-November this year. The supplementary budget will be passed during the session, which will continue till Friday.
On Sunday, former Union minister and RLM chief Kushwaha requested Nitish to hand over the JD(U) leadership to Nishant, who so far has not given a clear indication that he intends to join active politics. On his birthday on Sunday, Nishant refrained from making any comment on joining politics and said that he hoped that his father would become CM again.
Nitish Kumar was handed the reins of the JD (U) for the second time after Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh stepped down at the party's national executive, held in New Delhi on December 29, 2023.
Kushwaha, who has a long love-hate relationship with Nitish, urged him to hand over the JD(U)’s leadership to Nishant on his 44th birthday on Sunday. In his post on ‘X’, he also cautioned Nitish that the JD(U) would suffer irreparable damage if he did not take a decision on the party leadership on time.
Sharing a picture of Nitish and Nishant on his social media account, Rajya Sabha member Kushwaha commented, “Received information from media/social media that today (Sunday) is the birthday of Nitish Kumar Ji's son, Nishant. On this joyous occasion, heartfelt birthday wishes to Nishant, the new hope of JD(U). May God always keep him healthy and cheerful. On this occasion, I humbly request respected Nitish Ji to kindly accept the truth, considering the sensitivity of the time and circumstances, that it is no longer appropriate for him to run both the government and the party simultaneously. His vast experience in running the government should continue to benefit the state, which is currently essential for the state's interest.”
He added, “However, regarding the transfer of the party's responsibility (which, in my opinion and that of thousands of workers/leaders of his own party, the time has now come), he should take a firm decision in a timely manner. This is in the interest of his party. Any delay in this matter could cause irreparable damage to the party. Perhaps a loss will be so huge that it may never be compensated.”
Before concluding his post, he said, “What I am saying, perhaps the JD(U) leaders may not be able to say to the chief minister, and even if some people could say it, they might not be able to reach him.”
Earlier, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had alleged that a group of JD(U) leaders were conspiring to keep Nishant away from politics to ensure their interests were not harmed.
On the other hand, JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar said that only Nitish would take a decision on the party leadership, adding that the party's rank and file were behind the CM.
Meanwhile, talking to the media, Nishant expressed confidence that his father and chief minister Nitish Kumar will return to power and the NDA will form the government after the assembly elections in the state. “People will support my father as he has done a lot of development work in the state,” he asserted.