RJD-helmed Grand Alliance to boycott Nitish Kumar's oath-taking ceremony

Bihar's main opposition party RJD on Monday said it will boycott the oath-taking ceremony of Nitish Kumar as chief minister, claiming the mandate in the elections was "against the NDA" which has been changed by a "fraud".

RJD, which is spearheading the five-party Mahagathbandhan, and its allies - Congress, CPI-ML, CPI, and CPI(M)- have decided to remain away from the swearing-in function of Kumar,

Kumar is scheduled to take oath as chief minister for the seventh time in Raj Bhavan this evening.

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"The RJD boycotts oath-taking ceremony of this puppet government. The mandate is for a change, and against the (ruling) NDA. The people's verdict has been changed by the ruler's order," the RJD alleged in a tweet.

"Ask the unemployed, the farmer, the contract worker, and the teacher as to what they are going through. People are angry with NDA's fraud. We are public representatives and we stand with people," it said. The RJD, which emerged as the single largest party in Bihar with 75 seats, also claimed the state is getting a "helpless government by the two helpless parties".

Attacking Kumar, it said Bihar will have a "Chief Minister who has been proven weak, idle and corrupt. And a senior partner (BJP) who has no (chief ministerial) face and is forced to resort to dubious means (for earning majority)".

"Their helplessness are 1. People's support for RJD 2. Tejashwi Yadav being elected as Bihar's most popular leader," it said in the tweet.

The party also took a dig at Kumar's reported remark at Sunday's NDA meeting that he did not want to become CM but was insisted by the BJP to continue in the post. "I did not want to become the chief minister because my party came third and also I was tired. But, several BJP leaders grabbed my feet, started crying, and pleading before me. I, being a soft-hearted, power-hungry mendicant, was moved. How could I annoy them?," the RJD said in a tweet laced with sarcasm.

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In the election results for 243 assembly seats announced on November 10, the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan lost to the four parties NDA. The BJP is the largest party within the ruling coalition with 74 seats, followed by JD-U (43) and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) four each.

The BJP had announced before the polls that Kumar will remain chief minister irrespective of which NDA constituent won the maximum number of seats. The grand alliance bagged 110 seats out of which RJD accounted for 75 while Congress tally was 19, CPI-ML (12) and CPI, and CPI(M) two each.