Bihar cabinet drama: Bihar agriculture minister Sudhakar Singh has threatened to resign from Nitish Kumar's cabinet after an argument took place between the two when the chief minister asked him to clarify the former's 'chief of thieves' comment, sources said.
The argument took place during a cabinet meeting.
According to sources, in the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Nitish Kumar asked Sudhakar Singh why did he make the statement 'chief of thieves' to which the latter replied saying, "he did not say anything wrong." This made Nitish Kumar angry following which an argument broke out between the two.
Sources further said that according to a minister who was present in the meeting, Sudhakar Singh left the meeting saying, "Aesa hai toh hum chod hi dete hai (If it is so, then we will leave it)."
Reports said Sudhakar Singh remained firm on his statement "Chief of thieves".
With his statement, Singh opened a front against his own government and made the situation uncomfortable for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav.
Sudhakar Singh is the son of Rashtriya Janata Dal state president Jagadanand Singh. He said at a public meeting that there are many thieves in his department and as he is the minister of the department, he becomes the chief of thieves.
While interacting with media persons in Patna, Singh said that he stands by his statement and will not amend it or complain that the statement was twisted by the media.
"I spoke the truth and I will not withdraw or clarify it. A large amount of corruption is taking place inside the agriculture department. Everyone is looting the ministry. I asked the government to stop the allocation of budget funds to my department," Singh said.
"The farmers want to do paddy farming but the Bihar Rajya Beej Nigam does not provide them adequate seeds. The funds allocated for the purpose, Rs 150 crore, are not reaching the farmers. The officials are involved in this scam. When farmers reached the district magistrates, they refused to interact with them and refused to address their grievances. This is the actual status of Bihar," Singh said.
Singh, while addressing a gathering of farmers in his home constituency Ramgarh in Kaimur district on Sunday claimed: "There are many thieves in my department and they are stealing money. As I am the in-charge minister of the department, I become their chief. There are many other chiefs above me. This government is old and its style of work is also old. It's up to the common people to alert the government," Singh said.
(With inputs from IANS)
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