Tejashwi issue: Time and patience running out for Nitish
Abhay Kumar, DH News Service, Patna, Jul 13 2017, 18:20 IST
The 'Grand Alliance' of Nitish and Lalu in the Bihar government is under threat as the RJD refuses to bow to Nitish's deadline, saying Tejashwi will not quit. PTI file photo.
Bihar seems to be headed for a major political upheaval in the next 48 hours. With the informal deadline to the RJD, to either make Tejashwi Yadav resign from the post of the Deputy Chief Minister or offer a credible legal explanation about the FIR lodged by the CBI, coming to an end on Saturday, the Grand Alliance is heading towards a grand hostility.
Nitish Kumar, who is being assiduously wooed both by the BJP as well as the Congress high command, has shown no sign of climb-down in Tejashwi’s case. Nor is he willing to buy the Deputy Chief Minister’s argument that he was “a minor when the land-for-hotels scam took place.”
“Such arguments could make the RJD supporters happy but it’s not credible enough to exonerate you (read: Tejashwi),” Nitish is believed to have told his close group of advisors within his party.
“Time is running out for Tejashwi. Samajhdaar ko ishaara kaafi (An intelligent person should draw inference from hints),”said JD (U) spokesperson Ajay Alok.
The RJD, however, took umbrage over the JD (U)’s tough posturing. “We are the single largest party with 80 MLAs in the Bihar Assembly. Others can’t dictate us terms. We have made our stand clear on Tejashwi that he won’t quit, and this stand won’t be diluted,” said RJD legislator and key Lalu aide Bhai Birendra here on Thursday.
Sources said the RJD ministers were also contemplating to quit en masse if Tejashwi was forced to quit in the next 48 hours when Nitish’s four-day deadline (to come clean) ends.
The BJP leader Sushil Modi, however, advised the RJD to appoint senior leader like Abdul Bari Siddiqui, the seven-term MLA, who is also Bihar’s Finance Minister, as the Deputy CM. “Lalu should not make it a prestige issue. By sacrificing his son, he could save the Government which has a mandate to serve the people till 2020,” said Modi.
The JD (U) could not disagree. “Nitish Kumar’s USP is his zero tolerance towards corruption. Till now, Tejashwi’s reply has been far from satisfactory. It’s now up to the RJD to avert the crisis, because the Dy CM is not merely facing an allegation, he has been slapped with an FIR, that too by the CBI,” said Nitish’s key aide Neeraj Kumar.
Nitish Kumar, who is being assiduously wooed both by the BJP as well as the Congress high command, has shown no sign of climb-down in Tejashwi’s case. Nor is he willing to buy the Deputy Chief Minister’s argument that he was “a minor when the land-for-hotels scam took place.”
“Such arguments could make the RJD supporters happy but it’s not credible enough to exonerate you (read: Tejashwi),” Nitish is believed to have told his close group of advisors within his party.
“Time is running out for Tejashwi. Samajhdaar ko ishaara kaafi (An intelligent person should draw inference from hints),”said JD (U) spokesperson Ajay Alok.
The RJD, however, took umbrage over the JD (U)’s tough posturing. “We are the single largest party with 80 MLAs in the Bihar Assembly. Others can’t dictate us terms. We have made our stand clear on Tejashwi that he won’t quit, and this stand won’t be diluted,” said RJD legislator and key Lalu aide Bhai Birendra here on Thursday.
Sources said the RJD ministers were also contemplating to quit en masse if Tejashwi was forced to quit in the next 48 hours when Nitish’s four-day deadline (to come clean) ends.
The BJP leader Sushil Modi, however, advised the RJD to appoint senior leader like Abdul Bari Siddiqui, the seven-term MLA, who is also Bihar’s Finance Minister, as the Deputy CM. “Lalu should not make it a prestige issue. By sacrificing his son, he could save the Government which has a mandate to serve the people till 2020,” said Modi.
The JD (U) could not disagree. “Nitish Kumar’s USP is his zero tolerance towards corruption. Till now, Tejashwi’s reply has been far from satisfactory. It’s now up to the RJD to avert the crisis, because the Dy CM is not merely facing an allegation, he has been slapped with an FIR, that too by the CBI,” said Nitish’s key aide Neeraj Kumar.
