GG News Bureau
Patna, 3rd Oct. Bihar agriculture minister Sudhakar Singh, whose outspokenness frequently embarrassed the Nitish Kumar government, tendered his resignation, his father and state RJD president Jagadanand Singh stated on Sunday.
Though the minister could not be reached for comment following the drastic step, his father stated that Sudhakar Singh had lent his voice to the concerns of the farming community but sometimes, this is not enough. Sacrifices have to be made. Therefore, the agriculture minister has sent his resignation letter to the government.
Jagadanand Singh, whose close proximity to RJD president Lalu Prasad and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav has earned him a second consecutive term as state unit chief, cryptically added, “We didn’t want the schism to widen” (hum nahin chahte hain ki ye ladaai aage badhe).
He recalled Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri, both of whose birthdays fall on October 2, and said his son had followed in their footsteps by empathizing with farmers.
Sudhakar Singh, a first-term RJD MLA from Ramgarh, had enraged the chief minister by openly discussing corruption and bureaucratic high-handedness in his department on several occasions.
The BJP, which has been nursing its wounds since losing power in the upheaval caused by Kumar’s exit from the NDA, jumped at the chance.
Sudhakar Singh had been speaking out against Afsarshahi (bureaucratic high-handedness). This is something Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will not stand for. As a result, he has been forced to resign, said state BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal.
When Singh was appointed to the cabinet, the BJP flared up in dissent over a case involving a payment default by a rice mill owned by him.
Singh began his political career as a BJP leader, running on a party ticket from Ramgarh in 2010 and losing his deposit.
The multi-party Mahagathbandhan, which includes the RJD, the CM’s JD(U), Congress, and the Left, appeared befuddled by the minister’s abrupt move.
We do not know to whom the resignation has been submitted. Unless there is something official, we cannot comment, said Congress spokesperson Asit Nath Tiwari, whose party is an old RJD ally.
According to RJD sources, Sudhakar Singh has submitted his resignation to Tejashwi Yadav, the deputy chief minister, rather than the chief minister, putting the ball in the latter’s court.
According to JD(U) parliamentary board chief Upendra Kushwaha, the development will have no impact on the government’s stability. Sudhakar Singh has previously stated that he will resign if Lalu and Tejashwi demand it. Perhaps he received the orders.
Sudhakar Singh will be the second minister to leave the Mahagathbandhan cabinet if his resignation letter is accepted.
Kartik Kumar, another RJD leader, resigned last month after feeling betrayed by the removal of his law portfolio, which was linked to a controversy over his alleged involvement in a kidnapping case.
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