Nitish Kumar stakes claim to form govt with BJP support after ditching I.N.D.I.A

News Network
January 28, 2024

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Patna: JD(U) president Nitish Kumar on Sunday, January 28, resigned as the Chief Minister of Bihar, saying "things were not working well" for him in the Mahagathbandhan and the opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A, and staked claim to form a new government with the BJP, which he had dumped less than 18 months ago.

Talking to reporters here after submitting his resignation to Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Kumar, who is likely to form a new government by the evening, said: "I have submitted my resignation to the Governor. The government that was in place now comes to an end. I have let it go".

At the state BJP headquarters, the party's in-charge Vinod Tawde said: "We had gathered here to listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mann Ki Baat. After the programme. Later a proposal was moved to support the JD(U) and form an NDA government which was unanimously accepted by all MLAs".

Tawde also said that state BJP president Samrat Choudhary and former Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha have been named as leader and deputy leader, respectively of the legislature party.

Both leaders, who are tipped to become Deputy Chief Ministers in the new government, thanked the top leadership for the opportunity and vowed to "protect Bihar from the jungle raj unleashed by Lalu Prasad's RJD".

Tawde and Choudhary later visited Kumar's residence from where they all went to the Raj Bhavan, staking claim to form the new government.

Lalu Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav was the Deputy CM in the outgoing government and the latter's elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav was a cabinet minister.

In an apparent dig at Kuma, Prasad's daughter Rohini Acharya said the "garbage has gone into the dustbin".

"Garbage goes back into the dustbin. Happy stinking garbage to the group", Acharya posted on 'X'.

The RJD, despite having the largest number of 79 MLAs in Bihar assembly, including Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, who is the Speaker, seems unwilling to stake claim.

The party seems to have latched on to the opportunity to promote Tejashwi Yadav. Full-page advertisements saying "Dhanyawad (thank you) Tejashwi" were put out in newspapers here by the party which showered encomiums on the 34-year-old leader for having played his role well since becoming the Deputy CM in August 2022.

The CPI(ML) Liberation, which supported the 'Mahagathbandhan' government from the outside, launched a blistering attack on Kumar, accusing him of "betrayal". In an acerbic Facebook post, the party's general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya alleged that Kumar, "who has had the longest stint as CM", will be used by the RSS-BJP combine "as its pawn".

The 72-year-old leader indicated that he was not feeling happy with the way things were in the Mahagathbandhan in the state as well as the I.N.D.I.A bloc that he helped take shape but which failed to adequately recognise his efforts.

"You all know how I came to this alliance and also how I worked to bring together so many parties. But of late things were not working well. It was not going down well with those in my party as well", said Kumar.

He also made an indirect reference to the deafening silence he had maintained over the political turmoil that had engulfed the state for the past few days.

Kumar resigned after a meeting of the JD(U) legislature party, which authorised him to take any decision about the alliance.

According to the Raj Bhavan, Kumar has been asked to continue as caretaker Chief Minister till the formation of a new government.

The swearing-in is likely to be held in the presence of BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, who is expected to arrive here around 3 pm.

Kumar had joined the Mahagathbandhan in August 2022, when he had snapped ties with the BJP accusing it of trying to "split" his JD(U). He formed a new government with a multi-party coalition that included RJD, Congress and three Left parties.

In the current 243-member Bihar Assembly, JD(U) has 45 MLAs and the BJP 78. Kumar also has the support of one Independent member. Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha, which is already a part of the NDA, has four MLAs.

The RJD (79) along with the Congress (19) and the Left parties (16) have a combined 114 MLAs, eight short of a majority.
 

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News Network
April 30,2024

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Guwahati: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday condemned the alleged sexual abuse of women involving Lok Sabha MP Prajwal Revanna, asserting that the BJP will not tolerate any insult to women.

Revanna (33) is the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate for Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, which went to polls on April 26.

Earlier in the day, the JD(S) suspended Revanna from the party with immediate effect.

“The issue regarding Revanna that has been reported in the media is very hurtful and cannot be tolerated in any way,” Shah told a press conference here.

“The BJP’s stand is very clear; we will not tolerate any insult to ‘matri aur nari shakti’ (women empowerment),” he asserted.

Some explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, were circulated in Hassan over the last few days.

The home minister said Congress has been alleging that an NDA partner’s candidate is involved in the incident, “but I just want to ask a small question - whose government is there in that state (Karnataka)?”

“The Congress is in power in Karnataka, and this matter must have come to their attention. Why has it not taken any action on it so far? We cannot take any action as law and order is a state issue,” Shah said.

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News Network
April 25,2024

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The Election Commission of India on Thursday announced that it had taken cognisance of violations to the Model Code of Conduct by both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

While Modi has indulged in a diatribe against Muslims, without naming them, using terms like 'infiltrators' and 'those with more children', Rahul has been accused of making a false claim about 'rise in poverty'.

Both the BJP and INC have raised allegations of causing hatred and divisions based on caste, religion, language, and community, ANI reported.

While the EC had initially refused to comment on Modi's speeches, sources had told PTI that the commission was 'looking into' the remarks made by the BJP leader.

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News Network
May 3,2024

Bengaluru: In a fresh development in the alleged Hassan sex abuse case, JD(S) MLA H D Revanna, who was accused of sexually harassing his house help, has been booked for kidnapping a victim allegedly sexually assaulted by his son, Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna. The case was filed late Thursday evening at the KR Nagar police station in Mysuru.

The 20-year-old complainant from KR Nagara accused one Sathish Babanna of taking his mother away forcibly and keeping her in an unknown location at the behest of Revanna.

As per the FIR, Revanna has been named as accused 1 while Babanna was accused 2. The duo were booked under IPC Sections 364A (kidnapping for ransom), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).

The complainant claimed that his mother, whose name and age were not revealed, had worked as a help in Revanna’s house and farm in Holenarasipura for six years, quit the job three years ago and returned to KR Nagara. She then worked for daily wages.

“Nearly three to four days before the Lok Sabha election, Sathish Babanna, who is known to us and hailed from our native place, took my mother to Holenarasipura after saying that Bhavani Revanna, the wife of MLA Revanna, had asked for her,” the complainant alleged, adding that Babanna dropped her back on the day of the polls.

Babanna allegedly told the victim’s mother and father to remain silent and evade the police if they came looking for them and to inform him of the developments.

On April 29, at around 9 pm, when the complainant was home, the suspect Babanna arrived, told the complainant’s mother that Revanna had asked for her and took her away on his motorcycle. The complainant claimed that he wasn’t aware of where Babanna took his mother and he had told him that if the police found her, a case would be registered and they would all go to jail.

On May 1, two of the complainant’s relatives called him on the phone and told him that there was a video of his mother being sexually assaulted by Prajwal and that it was a huge case, the FIR noted. He was also informed by his two friends of his "mother's videos being circulated".

When he asked Babanna later that night, he was allegedly told that there was a photo of his mother standing with a stick when Prajwal had quarrelled with someone earlier and an FIR had been registered. Babanna told the complainant that his mother would have to be released on bail, the FIR noted.

“Babanna told me not to speak on the matter on my phone and asked me to talk from a different phone,” he said, seeking action from the police.

The case has been transferred to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to probe the Hassan sex scandal as per the government order.

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