"There is no democracy left": Manoj Kumar Jha on heightened interest of JD (U) leadership change
Dec 30, 2023
Patna (Bihar) [India], December 30 : A day after Lalan Singh resigned from the top post in the Janata Dal (United) and Nitish Kumar took over the reigns of the party, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Kumar Jha said that he is surprised to see such interest in the internal activities of a political party adding that there is no democracy left in the country.
"Since the time I have been following politics in independent India, such heightened interest in the internal activities or normal change of some other party makes me believe that there is no democracy left in the country," Jha said speaking to reporters in Patna on Saturday.
The Rajya Sabha MP also took a quip at the reporters, saying that he hopes to see the same interest when the next Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president is appointed after JP Nadda.
"I hope to see such interest when the next BJP president is appointed after JP Nadda," Jha said.
Manoj Jha admitted that there were some rumours that Lalan Singh wanted to focus on some issues while he was helming the party.
"As per my understanding, Nitish Kumar has taken command of the Janata Dal (United). There were rumours that Lalan Singh wanted to focus on other issues. Yesterday, our leader, Tejashwi Yadav, had explained this clearly," Jha said.
The Bihar MP also said that there is a special interest as far as Bihar is concerned.
"There is some restlessness, especially for Bihar," Jha said, taking a veiled dig at the BJP, referring to the time when the BJP lost power in the state after Nitish Kumar switched sides and joined hands again with the RJD to form the government.
The JD(U) on Friday saw a change at its helm as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was unanimously re-elected as president of the party at a meeting of the party's national executive in Delhi. This came after Rajiv Ranjan Singh, popularly known as Lalan Singh, resigned from the post.
It is not the first time Nitish Kumar has taken over as president of the party. In 2016, he became party president after replacing Sharad Yadav.
In 2013, he broke ranks with the NDA after a 17-year alliance following the announcement of Narendra Modi as BJP's prime ministerial candidate. Kumar, who harboured prime ministerial ambitions himself, took offence with BJP nominating Modi for the top post.
In 2017, Kumar forged a grand alliance with RJD and Congress and returned as chief minister in 2015. He walked out of the grand alliance in 2017, accusing the RJD of corruption and choking governance in the state.
In 2022, Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP once again, alleging the BJP was conspiring against him and trying to influence JD-U MLAs to rebel against him.
