JOIN USBihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday appointed JD-U legislator from Dhamdaha, Lesi Singh, to his Cabinet. Lesi is the only woman minister in Bihar.
She replaces Renu Kushwaha, who on Monday night quit as industry minister.
In her resignation letter, Renu said she was quitting on “moral grounds” after her husband Vijay Singh joined the BJP in the presence of Narendra Modi at the Purnia rally, which she described as “quite embarrassing”.
Nitish had so much faith in Renu that he allocated the JD-U legislator from Bihariganj in Madhepura an additional portfolio of the Disaster Management Department.
On his return from New Delhi on Monday evening, Nitish asked her to reconsider her decision to resign, but to no avail.
On Tuesday, Nitish informed Raj Bhavan about the possibility of Cabinet expansion.
Governor D Y Patil had specially flown down from Mumbai for the oath ceremony since he was out of state. A controversial leader, Lesi had earlier served as Chairperson of the state Women Commission. Her husband Butan Singh, a known rowdy-sheeter, was a gang lord in Purnia, before he was shot dead in a court
premises.
Though there were many aspirants for the ministerial berth, Nitish seemed to play it safe by not going in for a major expansion.
“After the Lok Sabha elections are over, I will go for major Cabinet expansion,” Nitish said in a bid to quell dissensions within his party.
Last month, Minister Parveen Amanullah quit the Nitish Cabinet and resigned as a JD-U legislator. Renu, unlike Parveen, continues to be a party MLA.
“Why should I leave the JD-U. I have no complaints against Nitish ji. I quit as my conscience did not allow me to continue as a minister when my husband joined a rival party,” Renu clarified here on Tuesday.