NDA Leaders Infighting Surfaces; CM Offers Resignation
Patna: July 13, 2007
Intra-party squabble among the NDA constituents on Friday led the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to offer his resignation after Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Bhola Prasad Singh asked him to either quit or get rid of Home Secretary Afzal Amanullah and Director General of Police (DGP) Ashish Ranjan Sinha over recent Maoist attacks in Bihar.
Singh also demanded to know the relevance behind having a Deputy Chief Minister which he said was superfluous and unnecessary.
Kumar, taken aback by the attitude of NDA leaders, wasted no time in obliging Singh by agreeing to resign only to be placated by other BJP leaders who said despite some internal differences, the entire NDA was solidly behind the Chief Minister who was doing his best under the given conditions.
Singh himself backed out and softened his stand saying there was no threat to the government. "Nitish Kumar was our unanimous choice for the Chief Minister's post and we cannot allow him to fail," he said.
Meanwhile, opposition leaders demanded to know from the government what transpired at the Chief Minister's residence that led Kumar to offer his resignation. "There appears to be serious problem with this government and as the members of the opposition in Bihar Assembly, it is only fair for us to ask what led to such emotional outburst by the NDA leaders," Shyam Rajak, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader said.
|
