PATNA: Bihar's newly sworn-in law minister Kartikey Singh is facing an accusation of violating the law as a court has issued an arrest warrant against him for his alleged involvement in a kidnapping case.
Singh, the first-time RJD MLC, is known for his close proximity with the muscleman Anant Singh whose terror reigns supreme in the Barh-Mokama Tal area of Patna district.
Danapur Court had issued an arrest warrant against Kartikeya Singh on July 16 in a kidnapping case in 2014. He was reportedly supposed to appear before the court on August 16, but on the contrary, he was taking oath as a minister. Ironically, he was allocated the law portfolio later.
Singh has not appeared before the court and has also not filed any anticipatory bail petition in the court so far.
As per the prosecution, a builder Rajiv Ranjan was kidnapped in 2014 and the local court had taken cognisance of it. Meanwhile, BJP has adopted aggressive posturing against the new government for the induction of leaders having criminal antecedents into the cabinet.
Former Bihar deputy chief minister and BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi had also launched a frontal attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for allegedly giving berths to people facing criminal and corruption charges in the cabinet.
BJP is also alleging that the formation of the RJD-led Grand Alliance government in Bihar will only ensure the return of jungle raj to the state. Meanwhile, Singh in a media interview claimed that false allegations had been levelled against him in the kidnapping case. He said that he had also given all details in his election affidavits and had not concealed anything from the Election Commission.
“I consider myself innocent. Lodging of a case is altogether a different manner as there is a difference between making the allegation and proving it, There is no criminal case against me and BJP's allegation has no basis,” he added.
Reacting to same, BJP OBC Morcha general secretary Nikhil Anand said, “The council of ministers of Nitish Kumar government is presenting a very horrible picture. These rotten people can't ensure the safety and security of the people of Bihar. How can a person hide the fact that he (Kartikey) is wanted in a kidnapping case and took oath as law minister of Bihar?”
He said that it was very shameful for Nitish Kumar to succumb to the pressure of RJD.
Most new ministers in Grand Alliance govt have criminal cases: Report
New Delhi: A joint report of the Association of Democratic Reforms and Bihar Election Watch has pointed out that most ministers in the Nitish Kumar team have criminal cases registered against them. It said the CM and his junior Tejashwi Yadav are among 23 ministers out of 33 ministers, who have declared criminal cases against themselves in their poll-affidavits. This is around 70% of the newly sworn-in ministers in Bihar, the report said. The report made an elaborate analysis of poll affidavits of these ministers. Among 23 ministers who have declared criminal cases against themselves, 17 have declared serious criminal cases pending against themselves in the state.