Nitish wanted to protect nexus between PFI, Bihar officials: BJP

The BJP in Bihar on Saturday blamed the volte-face by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whereby it was stripped of power in a trice, on a “nexus” between senior officials of the state and Islamic extremist organisations PFI and SDPI.

State BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal also alleged that such officials were “sympathetic towards the RJD”, the numerically largest constituent of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’, which was “likely to make every effort to shield them”.

“The NIA has busted a terror module of the PFI and the SDPI in Bihar, which has a close nexus with many senior administrative and police officials. The BJP, in national interests, would not have tried to save them, but it miffed Nitish Kumar who has vote bank concerns,” claimed Jaiswal.

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“Most of these officials are known to be close to the RJD and the new government will make every effort to shield them. But, the NIA is on the job and such officials will be exposed and brought to justice in the course of time,” the multiple-term MP said.

The JD(U), meanwhile, scoffed at Jaiswal’s allegations.

“Such statements indicate the onset of mental imbalance. Let the BJP be dethroned from Delhi and replaced with another dispensation. All party leaders will thereafter be seen in lunatic asylums,” JD(U) national secretary Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said.

The BJP leader also claimed that incidents of blasts at illegal firecracker manufacture units in Saran and Bhagalpur districts, and at a seminary (madrasa) in Banka, all reported within the last half year, were linked to terror activities.

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“It is thanks to the officials that the sites of the explosion were described as illegal firecracker units. Take the blast in Saran last month (for instance). The house that collapsed upon its impact had a concrete basement. The police officials deliberately did not investigate it in depth,” alleged Jaiswal, whose hardline had contributed significantly to the strain in the relations between the chief minister’s JD(U) and the BJP.

The allegations also come in the backdrop of the resentment, often expressed by BJP leaders while they shared power with Kumar, over the CM’s refusal to part with the crucial home portfolio, which could have given the party control over the police.

Moreover, the party also seems to be agitated over the possibility of a bureaucratic reshuffle that is on the cards, after the new government wins the trust vote in the assembly. Top police officers, perceived to be “close” to the BJP, are expected to be shunted under the new dispensation.