Janta Dal United sees a Raghuvansh in Giriraj

Patna: Union minister Giriraj Singh is proving for the JDU in the current NDA government what senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh was for it in the earlier Grand Alliance government.

Giriraj on Friday stressed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would remain the face of the NDA in Bihar. But JDU leaders are in no mood to relent. “Giriraj is trying to rock the NDA,” JDU spokesperson Sanjay Singh said. “He knows how the BJP fares in elections with and without Nitish Kumar.” Sanjay went on to say that the Union minister was behaving like Raghuvansh did during the Grand Alliance days.

Raghuvansh remained a bitter critic of Nitish during the Grand Alliance government, going public against the chief minister on matters of governance and law and order and questioning his loyalty and commitment towards the Grand Alliance. Frustrated JDU leaders, including Lallan Singh, had held press meets to remind the RJD about “alliance dharma” and demanded action against Raghuvansh. But the RJD never took action.

“When Raghuvansh spoke against Nitish, we feared that it was with the RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s consent,” said a senior JDU leader, insisting that the same applies to Giriraj too. “Our fears were confirmed later. Raghuvansh babu was, indeed, his master’s voice.”

JDU leaders point out that in the earlier NDA government, before the JDU and BJP parted ways in2013, Giriraj had actively issued statements against Nitish. “Giriraj is not a unguided missile as is generally perceived,” said a senior JDU leader. “He issues statements with the consent of his political boss.” He also pointed out how Giriraj had suddenly begun issuing statements after being quiet for a long time.

Giriraj has mostly been in the news for all the wrong reasons. A couple of months ago he was shown provoking a mob to abuse a police officer in Darbhanga. He was named an accused in a land grabbing case. Earlier, eye-brows were raised when thieves were arrested with over Rs 1 crore in cash that they had stolen from Giriraj’s Patna apartment.

There has been considerable heartburn between JDU and BJP leaders in the recent past. JDU leaders blame BJP leaders for the communal flare-up during Ramnavami.

In a recent statement, Nitish had hinted that there was a move to finish off the JDU. The stress over seat-sharing is showing already with the JDU hinting that it was not willing to accept the 2014 Lok Sabha polls as a base for seat sharing. “Giriraj is just adding to the distrust prevailing among alliance partners,” said a JDU legislator.

Courtesy: The Telegraph