The Congress has urged Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav to take necessary steps over the controversy that erupted over the appointment of RJD leader Kartikeya Kumar as the law minister in the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) government. The BJP has demanded his removal from the cabinet, alleging that an arrest warrant is pending against him in a 2014 kidnapping case, in which former Mokama MLA Anant Singh is also an accused.
The CPI-ML (Liberation), a constituent of the ruling alliance, has also demanded reconsideration of the RJD leader’s induction into the cabinet. “Both Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav should understand the gravity of the case against RJD leader Kartikeya Kumar. A discussion is needed over the issue and necessary steps must be taken by the CM and his deputy.
“I must say that remaining consecutively absent from the court proceedings or avoiding summons is not good. The controversy that has erupted over his induction is unwarranted. Immediate action is required to resolve the matter,” AICC Bihar in-charge Bhakta Charan Das told PTI. The Congress leader said he will visit Patna on August 24 and his party leaders will discuss the matter with Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav.
The chief minister, when earlier asked whether Kartikeya Kumar will continue in his cabinet, had said that the government is looking into the matter. Differences have emerged within the alliance government over Kartikeya Kumar’s induction into the cabinet, with the CPI-ML (Liberation) demanding reconsideration of the decision.
The Grand Alliance in Bihar at present comprises seven parties — JD (U), RJD, Congress, CPI-ML (Liberation), CPI, CPI (M) and HAM — which together have more than 160 MLAs in the 243-member assembly. The BJP has demanded that Kartikeya Kumar be removed from the cabinet, alleging that a kidnapping case is pending against him. Demanding his dismissal, senior BJP leader Sushil Modi wondered how someone “who was supposed to surrender before a court in connection with a kidnapping case got inducted into the state cabinet”. The BJP alleged that Kartikeya Kumar was supposed to surrender before Danapur court on August 16, but instead, he showed up at the Raj Bhavan to take oath as a minister. Dismissing the BJP’s allegations, RJD, however, maintained that Kumar has been granted interim protection till September 1 by the court.
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