RJD dubs Nitish's Janata Durbar a 'drama'

In what appears to be widening rift between the two ruling alliance partners—the RJD and the JD(U)— RJD vice-president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh on Tuesday dubbed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s weekly Janata Durbar a “drama”.

The senior RJD leader’s reaction came a day after Nitish held Janata Durbar for nine hours on Monday and ameliorated the grievances of 1,007 complainants.

“The janata durbar has become more a dikhawa (drama). Instead of holding such meets for nine hours, Nitish should meet common people everyday,” said Raghuvansh, who served as Rural Development Minister in UPA-I.

This is not the first time that the senior RJD leader has struck a discordant note. His fresh assertion comes two days after Lalu Prasad put a lid on the rumour that any rift between the two alliance partners was brewing. “Nitish has the whole-hearted backing of Lalu Prasad. He can rule Bihar for as long as he wants. It could be even 20 years. But if someday he himself wants to forego the chair, then it’s altogether a different matter,” said Lalu, while addressing a meet in Raghopur on Sunday.

Lalu’s assertion, particularly the concluding sentence, raised more questions than answers, and left many political pundits puzzled. On Tuesday, Raghuvansh added fuel to the fire, thereby forcing the JD(U) to come out with a restrained reaction on the alliance leader. “Earlier, Raghuvansh Babu used to criticise the government. Now, he has improved a bit and is offering advice to Nitishji to hold meets daily. But the chief minister is competent enough to decide which step will be more appropriate,” said JD(U) leader Shyam Razak.