Nitish our leader: RCP, a day after denial of RS seat
PATNA: A day after the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) decided against giving him a third Rajya Sabha term, Union steel minister RCP Singh on Monday expressed gratitude to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for the “opportunities he was given in the past” and said he will continue to work “for the party like a true worker”.
“Nitish Kumar is our leader. The decision by the leader must have been taken after due consideration and in the interest of the party. I have full faith in Nitish Kumar,” he told reporters in Patna.
On Sunday, the JD-U decided to field its Jharkhand unit president Khiru Mahto for the Rajya Sabha seat from Bihar in its quota, the election for which is due on June 10.
“I stayed with Nitish babu for 25 years. I thank Nitish babu for whatever decision was taken… I was the leader of the JD(U) in the Rajya Sabha for 12 years,” Singh said.
If Singh fails to get nominated to the Upper House of Parliament within six months from the date of expiry of his term (July 7), he will have to resign as a minister.
“If my leader Nitish Babu says, I will resign. I will meet PM Modi and convey him my point. I have a tenure till July 6. The party has given me this responsibility till July, but Prime Minister Modi will decide if I continue as a minister,” he said.
Singh, who was his party’s point person for negotiating berths in the union council of ministers but ended up becoming the only JD-U leader in the Cabinet, also dismissed the contention that his party should have had proportional representation in the Union council of ministers, as some party leaders have argued. “The very fact that JD-U was invited is more than enough,” he said.
Singh, a former bureaucrat, said he had worked closely with Kumar and the party. “I have worked for the organization since 2010 and formed 33 cells and took the party to workers up to booth level. This has been my biggest achievement. Whatever decision I took were taken with chief minister’s advice and in the interest of the party,” he said, lamenting that the number of party cells has been reduced to
12. “I will request the state party president to revive them,” he said.
Meanwhile, JD-U president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, who is seen as a rival of RCP Singh in the party, said the decision to nominate Mahto “was another step in honouring party workers who have been associated with us since the days of Samata Party.”
Later in the day, while talking to reporters after NDA candidates filed their nomination papers, CM Kumar said RCP Singh was sent to the Rajya Sabha twice, besides being made the party president and was currently serving as a minister in the union government.
“He has been with us since he was an IAS officer. He got all these opportunities,” Kumar said to a query by reporters.
The CM said Singh need not resign immediately as minister as his tenure ends on July 6.
Asked if anybody else from JD-U will join the union cabinet, Kumar said, “It will be decided as per the situation.”
I stayed with Nitish babu for 25 years. I thank him for whatever decision was taken
RCP SINGH, JD-U leader