Former Janata Dal (United) president R C P Singh joined the BJP here on Thursday in the presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, once his mentor, of compromising with crime and corruption in his pursuit of “kursi” (chair).
Singh had a fallout with Kumar last year after he was seen by the JD(U) to be veering closer to the BJP as differences between the two parties grew. The two outfits subsequently severed their alliance.
Joining the BJP, Singh took a swipe at his former mentor, saying Kumar compromised his stand against crime and corruption in his “love” for the chair. He said the chief minister will be left with nothing in Bihar and lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his work for the poor and overall leadership of the country.
Singh mocked Kumar as a “PM”, explaining that it stood for “palti maar” (one who keeps taking U-turns).
“Nitish babu used to say that he was against crime and corruption. Today, he is sitting in the lap of those against whom he once struggled. He is in love with the letter ‘C’ because ‘C’ stands for chair also. Everything he is doing is for the chair only,” Singh charged.
“Nitish babu was a PM, he is a PM and will remain a PM. Here the letter ‘P’ stands for ‘palti’ and ‘M’ stands for ‘maar’. He has betrayed (people) several times,” he added.
Singh asked if no work was happening in the country, how did India become the fifth largest economy.
The former Cabinet minister, who had to resign from the Modi government after the JD(U) did not nominate him to Rajya Sabha for a fresh term last year, also took potshots at Kumar for his efforts to forge unity among the opposition ranks.
“What kind of opposition unity you will forge? Who is the leader? Is it possible to forge an opposition unity without a leader?” he asked, adding, “Nitish babu, you always talk about history. Dont’ forget history. Ahead of every Lok Sabha election, there has been a talk about opposition unity, in 2019 as well.”
Singh said the rule of law was established in BIhar after the NDA government was formed in the state.
“But every thing has gone awry in Bihar today. The situation is worst than the past,” he said.
It’s because Kumar was given a mandate to develop Bihar but he has been travelling from one state to another, Singh said.
“One day he is Odisha, then second day in Jharkhand and in Maharashtra the third day. For what? People gave him mandate to make Bihar a developed state, end unemployment, give jobs to the youth,” he said.
Union minister Pradhan also hit out at Kumar and said the JD (U) leader moved out of the NDA to pursue his “personal political ambitions and goals”.
“NDA played a significant role in keeping Bihar on track. But Nitish ji kept back-stabbing (us) to pursue his personal political ambitions and goals,” he charged.
Pradhan lauded Singh, claiming that he played a key role in strengthening the JD(U) and enjoys credibility among the extremely backward sections of society.
“His joining the BJP will further strengthen the party (in Bihar) and we will succeed.”
A bureaucrat, Singh served under Kumar when he was a Union minister and was brought into politics by the JD(U) leader. He was nominated to Rajya Sabha twice and was the most powerful leader in the party after Nitish Kumar before their fallout. He also comes from the Kurmi caste like Kumar.
