New Nitish Kumar cabinet full of corrupts, criminals, alleges Prashant Kishor

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Friday alleged that the new cabinet of the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar was full of corrupt and criminal leaders.

Speaking to reporters after a day-long silent fast at Gandhi Ashram in West Champaran, Kishor also said his party will launch the ‘Bihar Navnirman Sankalp Yatra’ on January 15, during which Jan Suraaj Party workers will visit all houses in the state.

“The new cabinet of Nitish Kumar, which took oath on Thursday, is full of corrupts and criminals. I must say that this council of ministers is a slap in the face of the people of Bihar. It’s like rubbing salt on the wound as several corrupt leaders were inducted,” he alleged, days after drubbing in the recently held assembly elections in the state.

Kishor claimed the leaders inducted into the cabinet indicate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and CM Kumar are least concerned about Bihar.

“They have purchased votes by transferring Rs 10,000 into the bank account of more than 1 crore women. Now, they have no concern for the state or the people,” he alleged.

“If I am saying anything wrong, the state government can put me behind bars,” he added.

Kishor claimed the government diverted funds from the state’s contingency fund and a grant from the World Bank for the cash transfer scheme.

“Now, we will ensure that women get Rs 2 lakh as promised by the NDA ahead of the polls,” he said.

Kishore said as part of the ‘Bihar Navnirman Sankalp Yatra’, Jan Suraaj Party workers, including him, will visit every house in the state.

“We will visit all houses in the state over 15-18 months and create awareness among the people about the misdeeds of this government. The organisation of the Jan Suraaj Party will be strengthened before the campaign starts,” he said.

The former poll strategist said he will donate 90 per cent of his income over the next five years for the party’s campaign.

“Besides, whatever assets I have acquired in the last 20 years, except my Delhi house, I will donate those for the party,” he said.

“Now, I request the people of Bihar to donate just Rs 1,000 to the party on a yearly basis. I will not meet anyone who doesn’t donate this amount to the party,” he said.

Kishor said he believes in Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology of patience and perseverance.

“We will change the government. They tried to break our morale in this election. We will fight and win,” he said.

26 ministers take oath along with CM Nitish Kumar

Bihar’s longest-serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was on Thursday sworn in for a record 10th term at a grand ceremony in Patna, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CMs of several NDA-ruled states, and senior alliance leaders.

Kumar was administered the oath of office by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan at the Gandhi Maidan, where a massive makeshift stage was erected for the ceremony, also attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, both of whom had arrived in Patna on Wednesday night.

Along with 74-year-old Kumar, 26 ministers took the oath of office: 14 from the Bharatiya Janata Party, eight from Janata Dal (United), two from Lok Jan Shakti Party (Ram Vilas), and one each from Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).

The ministers included Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, both deputy CMs in the previous government, who have been elected as the BJP’s leader and deputy leader, respectively, following the polls that were swept by the NDA, which got 202 seats in the 243-member assembly.

Out of 26, five ministers in the new Nitish cabinet are Dalits — one each from BJP, LJPRV, and HAM, and two from JD(U). Eight ministers belong to the upper castes, including four Rajputs. Three Yadavs have also been accommodated in the new cabinet, which is a mix of senior coalition leaders and new entrants, with the focus on caste and regional balance.

The portfolios to the ministers were not immediately allocated.

Besides Choudhary and Sinha, other BJP leaders who took the oath included Mangal Pandey, Nitin Nabin, and Surendra Prasad Mehta, all of whom were ministers in the previous government.

State BJP president Dilip Jaiswal, who had resigned from the cabinet nearly two years ago in keeping with the party’s ‘one person, one post’ policy, was back in the council of ministers.

Another minister who is back after a break is Narayan Prasad. He had lost his post in 2022 when the chief minister abruptly quit the NDA. He was not re-inducted upon the JD(U) supremo’s return to the BJP-led coalition last year.

The party has also brought in fresh faces like Shreyasi Singh, a professional shooter of international fame, who has been elected from Jamui for a second consecutive term.

Other BJP leaders who will enjoy a ministerial berth for the first time are –Arun Shankar Prasad, Dr Pramod Kumar, Lakhendra Kumar Raushan, Sanjay Singh Tiger, and Rama Nishad.

Another notable inclusion is Ram Kripal Yadav, a former Union minister who lost the Patliputra Lok Sabha seat last year but was elected from Danapur in the assembly polls.

From the JD(U) quota, all the inductees were ministers in the previous government, including Zama Khan, the lone Muslim MLA in the NDA.

Others who took oath, included Bijendra Yadav, Shrawon Kumar, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Leshi Singh and Madan Sahni, Sunil Kumar, and Ashok Choudhary.

The NDA also comprises smaller allies like LJPRV, HAM, and RLM, led by Union ministers Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha, respectively.

From HAM, Santosh Suman, Manjhi’s son and party president, was re-inducted.

LJPRV ministers include Sanjay Kumar Paswan of Bakhri, an associate of the late Ram Vilas Paswan, and Sanjay Kumar Singh, who defeated Tej Pratap Yadav in Mahua.

Although the RLM has won four seats, the MLAs, including Kushwaha’s wife Snehlata, who won the Sasaram seat, the party is represented in the cabinet by the founding president’s son Deepak Prakash, who is at present not a member of either house in the state legislature.

Besides the CM, Dilip Jaiswal, Dr Pramod Kumar, Ashok Choudhary, and Santosh Suman are members of the state legislative council.

The maximum number of ministers permissible for the state cabinet, including the CM, is 36.

In the outgoing government, the BJP had 15 ministers, JD(U) 12, including CM Nitish Kumar, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) had one, and one minister who was an Independent candidate.

(With inputs from PTI.)