RJD leader Raghuvansh Pd Singh resigns from party
NEW DELHI/PATNA: Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) received a major jolt on Thursday as former union minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh resigned from the party. The former Union Minister may join Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United, say sources.
“After Karpuri Thakur’s death, I stood behind you for 32 years but no more,” the 74-year-old said in a handwritten note on plain paper to Lalu Yadav. With a not-so-steady hand, he also wrote that he had received much love and support from the party, “please forgive me.” According to RJD leaders, the note appeared to rule out any possibility of a change of mind.
Mr Singh had been unhappy for some time with the party, which Lalu Yadav’s son Tejashwi has been running since his father went to jail on corruption charges.
The senior leader is currently admitted in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital where he is undergoing treatment due to his ill health.
In a handwritten note on plain paper to RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Singh said, “32 years after Jannayak Karpoori Thakur stood behind you but not now.”
He apologized to Lalu Prasad Yadav by writing his resignation on the paper adding, “I have always stood behind you for the party for many years but will not be able to stand anymore. I apologize for that. I have received a lot of love from the party workers and the public for which I’m grateful.”
According to people close to Singh, the doctors have said that his health has not improved and his health is not good for which he was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as a precaution. It has been reported from the sources that his health is continuously deteriorating.
The deterioration of health may be the reason for the resignation, however, many more matters are being extracted as the election is near, many parties of the ruling party are in touch with Singh.
Singh was unhappy with talks of former Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MP from Vaishali, Rama Singh, joining the RJD. Earlier in June Singh had resigned from the post of the National Vice President of the RJD. He had then raised questions over the style of work of Bihar RJD President Jagdanand Singh.
Singh, who held several portfolios in the Manmohan Singh government, including that of rural development, was reportedly unhappy over the proposed induction of alleged mafia don and former Lok Janshakti Party MP from Vaishali Rama Singh into the RJD.
He was also not happy with the style of functioning of Prasad’s heir apparent and leader of the opposition in the Bihar assembly Tejashwi Yadav, party sources said.
At the time, five of the eight RJD members in Bihar’s upper house had quit and crossed over to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party. Lalu Yadav’s wife and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi is among the remaining three members of the legislative council (MLCs).
(Patna Bureau with Agency Inputs ).
