Ranchi, March 5 (PT) Jharkhand’s sole JD(U) MLA, Saryu Roy, claimed on Thursday that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s entry into the Rajya Sabha was a “premeditated move” to remove him from the Chief Minister’s position.
Kumar, who is also the JD(U) supremo, announced his decision to enter the Rajya Sabha earlier in the day, bringing an end to his 20-year tenure as the longest-serving Chief Minister of the state.
“A major change has occurred in Bihar’s politics today. Nitish Kumar, who has been the Chief Minister since 2005, has done a lot for the state and has ensured good governance. The way he was sidelined from the Chief Minister’s position for the Rajya Sabha, it appears that he is being sent away. This method does not seem appropriate,” Roy said.
“From the activities that have been taking place between Delhi and Patna over the last two days, it seems that this was done according to a planned design. If he had been sent to the Rajya Sabha in a respectable manner, no one would have objected. As a friend of Kumar, I am unable to accept this decision,” the Jamshedpur West legislator told reporters.
Roy, however, did not mention who were behind the “planned design”.
Kumar and BJP president Nitin Nabin were among five NDA candidates who filed their nomination papers on Thursday for the Rajya Sabha elections.
In a post on X, Kumar said that from the very beginning of his parliamentary journey, he wanted to become a member of both Houses of the Bihar legislature as well as both Houses of Parliament.
“In keeping with this aspiration, I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time,” he said.
