Arun Kumar, the Jehanabad MP from Bihar, calls Upendra Kushwaha opportunistic, says he is disappointed in PM Modi.
New Delhi: Bihar MP Arun Kumar, who won on a Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) ticket in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, is not happy with its president Upendra Kushwaha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the Nitish government in the state. And he is unabashed in his criticism.
On Kushwaha’s recent exit from the NDA, Kumar told ThePrint: “BJP ke saath itne din rasmalai khane ke baad betrayed feel kar rahein hain (After reaping the benefits of being with the BJP for years, he now says he has been betrayed).”
Upset with the BJP after it asserted that the RLSP would not be given more than two seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Kushwaha quit as Union minister Monday, and accused Modi of “betraying backward classes”.
“He (Kushwaha) was a supporter of the Sangh all this while. How did he turn into a revolutionary overnight?” Kumar, who represents the Jehanabad Lok Sabha constituency, asked. “This is precisely why the common person is disgusted by politicians.
“The minute he realised the door for an alliance with the opposition parties is shutting soon, he quickly joined them,” Kumar added.
Kumar was suspended from the RLSP for indulging in “anti-party activities” in 2016.
Also read: Days after Bihar leader Upendra Kushwaha quits NDA, BJP announces OBC meet in Patna
‘Can’t support lynchings in name of gau raksha‘
Kumar is also highly critical of the BJP and Modi, whom, he says, he initially admired.
“He (Modi) evoked fierce nationalist sentiments in every Indian, which is commendable. But nationalism doesn’t feed stomachs,” Kumar said, adding: “I can never support the lynchings that followed in the name of gau raksha (cow protection). I love the cow as well but I am not a dramebaaz (theatrical) like Yogi Adityanath.”
Kumar said that unlike Kushwaha, he has the courage to criticise the ruling BJP while being in an alliance with them.
“I have always slammed the RSS for their goon culture. I am against unbridled Hindu fascist forces,” he told ThePrint. “I even spoke against the Godhra riots when no Congressman had the guts to.”
‘Hollow development in Nitish’s Bihar’
Kumar says he is disappointed about the deteriorating state of education in Bihar. “Development is hollow and means nothing without education. Patna University began to go down the drain long back,” he said.
“But the way education is treated today is unprecedented. There are as many as 50,000 fake teachers whose contracts have been renewed. Why?” he asked.
“As a mere MP, there is not much I can do except raise my voice, which I have multiple times. I have also written to the PMO nearly 20 times but to no avail. Most MPs in the state don’t even bother to meet their constituents,” he added.
Kumar also slammed the Nitish Kumar government in the state “for failing to meet basic health needs”.
“On an average, 10 accidents take place in Patna district per day but the hospitals are terribly ill-equipped to take care of the patients,” he said.
“Even in Delhi, there are four patients on one bed in the government hospitals but the BJP is focusing only on launching schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, which will be nothing but an opportunity for corrupt middlemen to earn money.”
Amid rumours of him launching a new party, Kumar didn’t confirm or deny the possibility. “I can only assure everyone that I will most definitely contest the 2019 elections,” he said.
Also read: There’s disquiet among Bihar’s BJP MPs after seat sharing with Nitish Kumar