Four-time Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Aruna Devi has levelled serious charges alleging that her name was dropped as a Minister in the Bihar Cabinet on the behest of Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar.
On March 15, Mr. Kumar expanded his Cabinet, inducting nine members from his party JD(U) and 12 from the ruling ally BJP. The expansion of the Cabinet was done after 46 days of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) forming the government in Bihar.
‘Last-minute omission’
“I had received a call from the party office in the morning around 10.30 a.m. and was asked to be there at Raj Bhavan. However, at the eleventh hour my name was dropped on the instruction of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. My name was approved by the top leaders and only one person was capable enough to drop my name. He is none other than Nitish Kumar,” Ms. Devi told The Hindu over phone on Tuesday.
Ms. Devi represents Warisaliganj Assembly constituency that falls in Nawada district and there was a talk that she would become a Cabinet Minister. Even celebrations had broken out by her supporters much before the formal announcement at her native place.
From the BJP, six new faces have been inducted in the Cabinet apart from three women legislators — Sheela Manda and Leshi Singh of JD(U) and Renu Devi of BJP.
Asked about what could be the possible reason for dropping her name, Ms. Devi said: “I really don’t know why he has done so. On one hand, he expressed sympathy towards the women by giving them reservation in the panchayat and police but on the other hand, he snatched the opportunity from a woman to become a minister. If there are three women ministers, what wrong could it have made to him if a fourth woman would have become minister? This is complete injustice done to me.”
Belonging to the Bhumihar caste, Ms. Devi said there are more than one lakh people from the community in her constituency. She is a popular leader because of her husband Akhilesh Singh, who is a dreaded gangster and accused in the 2004 Nawada massacre in which 10 people were killed. As per the 2009 Lok Sabha poll affidavit, when Mr. Singh had contested the Lok Sabha election that year, he had 27 cases registered against him including charges of attempt of murder, extortion and murder.
Ms. Devi said people are above everyone and that they are the ones who will decide her fate in the future. She, however, asserted that Mr. Kumar has gone wrong by dropping her name from the list for Cabinet induction.
