By the barest of the margins, using his entire political corpus, Bihar’s Nitish Kumar managed to usurp the Chief Minister chair in the assembly elections held in 2020. Before the elections, the talk of the town was that Nitish will not be getting another crack at the top post. However, the old guard managed to cling on, and somehow persevered. However, the new year has brought not-so-good news for the power-hungry JDU leader.
Reportedly, ever since Daya Prakash Sinha, recipient of Padma Award and Sahitya Akademi Award made controversial remarks against Emperor Ashok – JDU leaders started demanding Daya’s Padma award be taken away.
Sinha compared Ashoka to Aurangzeb and had been tagging the PMO as well as the Prime Minister to his tweets for some time. However, instead of cornering the playwright, JDU leaders like Upendra Kushwaha accused BJP of trying to wash its hands off the matter by putting the ball in the state government’s court. The likes of Kushwaha openly targeted the BJP by calling out the PM and state leaders.
Don’t play Twitter-twitter; BJP knows how to answer: Sanjay Jaiswal
However, noting the twitter warfare and blackmailing tactics of the JDU leaders, Dr Sanjay Jaiswal, BJPs state unit leader took to Facebook to post a long scathing note that put the JDU in its place.
Jaiswal warned Nitish’s party to stop playing games on Twitter, “To keep the NDA strong, we all will need to follow the basic decorum. It cannot be one-sided. The first step in that direction is to stop playing Twitter-Twitter with PM, as he is the pride of every BJP leader and worker. If anything has to be said to him, the talks should be direct. If one plays Twitter-Twitter, the 76 lakh BJP workers know how to answer. I hope we all will take note of this.”
He said the Bihar government should first act on his FIR against Sinha, get him arrested, and ensure punishment through speedy trial, “Once Sinha is pronounced guilty, a delegation of the Bihar government may meet the President (Ram Nath Kovind) with the request that Padma Shri awarded to the convicted person be withdrawn,”
Don’t make nonsensical claims: BJP to JDU
Looking to thwart JDUs rather insipid blackmailing act, Jaiswal also ticked off its national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan and Kushwaha, without mentioning either by name. He said, “One of you has been a minister at the Centre and the other in the state… asking the Prime Minister to withdraw Padma Shri given by the President is nothing but bakwaas (nonsense)”.
After pulling no punches, Jaiswal twisted the knife by pointing out towards the resurgence of the RJD, founded and headed by Kumar’s arch-rival Lalu Prasad. “We do not want the chief minister’s residence to become a den of criminals like it was before 2005,”
Read More: Could Nitish Kumar Tango with Mamata soon?
Nitish’s toxic love affair with Bihar
Bihar and its love affair with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has lasted far longer than one would have liked. The relationship turned toxic long ago but somehow both, or rather Kumar hasn’t been able to let go. As a result, Bihar continues to be one of the Bimaru states and has paid the price for it in kind.
Despite being a bang-average leader at best, Kumar thinks of himself as the ultimate political statesman. Almost eight years ago, Nitish dumped BJP to oppose the projection of Modi as Prime Ministerial candidate in the 2014 general election.
The disastrous liquor ban
Evidently, Nitish Kumar hasn’t been able to will the confidence of the BJP, the coalition partner of the JDU. Nitish Kumar’s liquor ban in Bihar is a case in point.
Even though the ban had good intentions behind it, it proved to be a disaster for the state. Male members of the family who used to spend Rs 100 for their liquor are now chalking out Rs 200 of their hard-earned money to buy illegal alcohol. This has led to reduced household spending, more threat of violence on dependent women and children of the family.
BJP, a member of the JDU–BJP coalition government, is now adamant about removing the populist move of Nitish Kumar.
Haribhushan Thakur, a member of the legislative assembly from the legislative assembly (MLA) from Bisfi in Madhubani, Bihar has requested Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to remove the illogical liquor ban from the state. Pointing towards the withdrawal of farm laws by honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Thakur said that Nitish Kumar should take a leaf out of Modi’s book.
Read More: BJP is adamant on removing liquor ban in Bihar and it makes a world of sense
Nitish’s utopian dream
Kumar, who has unfulfilled Prime Ministerial ambitions like other regional satraps, still harbours hope to get the chair one day, even though his party is weakening even in Bihar.
However, Nitish’s ambitions have been dealt another blow through BJP’s stern reminder that he is merely running the government based on the goodwill of the saffron party.
Through the cleverly crafted rejoinder, BJP has warned Nitish that the CM rug can be pulled away any moment, making his posturing and blackmailing tactics amount to nought.