CM Nitish Kumar openly expressed displeasure at the sudden cancellation of an event after Union minister R.K. Singh skipped it.
New Delhi: Murmurs of unhappiness are beginning to be heard in the JD(U)-BJP alliance in Bihar.
Almost four months after the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) broke away from the ‘grand alliance’ of opposition parties and formed a government in Bihar with the BJP’s support, ties between the two parties seem to have hit a rough patch, sources told ThePrint.
It all started after Union minister R.K. Singh, who was supposed to inaugurate a state power ministers’ conference in Bihar’s Rajgir on 10 November, changed his plan, leading to the event being cancelled.
On 13 November, chief minister Nitish Kumar expressed his displeasure over the incident. “I think making the announcement of the cancellation at the last moment was impractical. It caused embarrassment,” he said.
The two-day conference was planned to discuss the power situation in the country and take stock of various government schemes under two ministries — power and new and renewable energy.
The Bihar government had made grand preparations for the event, due to be inaugurated by union minister of state for power R.K. Singh, who is also from Bihar.
However, just a day before the event, on 9 November, the state government was informed about the event being cancelled. The reason cited was that Singh had to attend a meeting of the council of ministers on 10 November and hence could not be there for the inauguration.
Needless to say that the cancellation came as a huge embarrassment for the Nitish Kumar government as several power ministers from different states had already reached Patna while some were in transit. In fact, a group of officials from the power ministry had also reached Patna to attend the event.
Singer Sonu Nigam, who was to perform on the first day of the event, was asked to do a show at Sri Krishna Memorial Hall in Patna to entertain state power ministers and secretaries who had already reached the Bihar capital.
Sources in the JD(U) told ThePrint that Nitish Kumar had planned to make a 45-minute presentation about how he improved the power situation in Bihar and how the Centre and other states are adopting his model.
This was something the BJP was not willing to give credit to Nitish and this could be one of the reasons for the cancellation, the sources said.
Besides R.K. Singh, one more Union minister had skipped a meeting in Patna around the same time, causing some disappointment in the JD(U) camp.
On 9 November, President Ramnath Kovind was in Patna —his first visit to the state after becoming President — to launch the third agriculture roadmap for Bihar for the next five years. The event was attended by the Bihar governor, CM, deputy CM and the state agriculture minister.
However, Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh, also from Bihar, gave it a miss citing another key appointment on the same day. Some JD(U) leaders pointed out that the two programmes should have been scheduled in advance to avoid a clash.
In October this year, when PM Modi visited Patna University, Nitish Kumar had pleaded with folded hands to accord central university status to the university. But Modi turned down the request, saying that now it should aim for a world-class institution.
A month before that, the JD(U) was not even invited for the union cabinet reshuffle ceremony.
While the incidents have led to disgruntlement among JD(U)’s workers and middle level leadership, top leaders in the party as well as those in the BJP deny suggestions of differences in the alliance.
“Both the alliance partners are working in perfect harmony. Citing one or two incidents to say that something is wrong is not justifiable. I can give you 10 examples to prove that everything is on track,” says Devesh Kumar, state BJP vice president.
Even the JD(U) came up with a similar defence. “Without knowing the exact reasons for the cancellation of the event, how can you say that it was done to damage Nitish Kumar’s reputation,” asked senior JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi.
“You get an idea of the alliance from the pictures of PM Modi and CM Nitish Kumar together. The camaraderie is for everyone to see,” he added.
But the opposition RJD was quick to point out “cracks” in the alliance, saying the BJP had snubbed Nitish. “Nitish is a leader no one trusts,” said RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha.