JD-U Decides not to Join Modi Government over Insufficient Berths

by Abbas Adil

The Janata Dal-United (JD-U) on Sunday said it had decided not to join the Narendra Modi government at the Centre after its demand for two ministerial berths was rejected by the BJP.

State Education Minister and JD-U leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said: “We are not going to join the Narendra Modi cabinet. The JD-U needed the desired respect from the BJP but it did not happen. Hence we have decided to avoid inclusion in the Narendra Modi government.”

However, he added that this decision “will not affect our alliance with BJP in Bihar”.

The statement of Chaudhary is an indication of sour relationship between JD-U and BJP in Bihar, and this could be the reason for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar maintaining distance from the BJP and skipping the Niti Aayog meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister in Delhi on Sunday.

A political churn seems underway in Bihar with sources have said that JD-U has called for a meeting of every MLA, MLC, and MP of Bihar. Though the date has not been finalised yet, it is possible that it will be held any time in the next 3 to 4 days.

Besides the JD-U, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) also called for a similar meeting on August 9. The meeting will be held at the official residence of party chief Jitan Ram Manjhi in Patna.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday skipped the crucial seventh governing council meeting of NITI Aayog.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi and chief ministers of all states were invited.

Sources say Nitish Kumar skipped the meeting as he recently recovered from Covid infection.

Of late, the gap between BJP and JD(U) seems to be widening. Sources say Nitish Kumar is not happy with the BJP’s Prawas programme in 200 Assembly constituencies of Bihar.
Sources say that the BJP wanted to give out a message that it will contest all 243 assembly seats in future elections.
In reply to it, JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh also said that his party is also preparing for 243 seats.

In the past, Nitish Kumar had questioned the parameters on which Niti Aayog evaluated the development works of a particular state. Niti Aayog, in its report, had placed Bihar at the bottom of the development index in the country. This could be another reason for skipping the meeting of the Aayog.

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