by Alok Mohit
PATNA: Hours after being shifted to low profile sugarcane industry department from law department, ‘tainted’ Bihar minister Kartik Kumar resigned from the Nitish Kumar-led Grand Alliance government.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar has forwarded the resignation of Kartik Kumar– an MLC from Lalu Prasad’s party, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)–to Governor Phagu Chauhan for acceptance. The sugarcane industry portfolio has been allocated to Alok Mehta.
A notification issued by the state Cabinet Secretariat Department earlier in the day had said Shamim Ahmad, also an RJD leader, will replace Kartik Kumar as law minister. Ahmad was hitherto holding the sugarcane industry portfolio.
The opposition BJP had been demanding Kumar’s removal from the Grand Alliance government in Bihar, alleging that an arrest warrant was pending against him in a 2014 kidnapping case. Even Grand Alliance partners—Congress and CPI(ML)—had asked chief minister Nitish Kumar to reconsider the decision of inducting Kumar into the cabinet.
The development comes a day before the interim protection granted to him by a court against any coercive action ending on September 1. The decision to change the portfolio of Kartik Kumar is seen as a move to avoid any embarrassment in case the court made any adverse comment against Kartik Kumar.
The BJP has been alleging that Kartik Kumar was made law minister under the influence of former RJD Mokama MLA Anant Singh, who lost his assembly seat two months ago after he was sentenced to 10 years in jail .
Kartik Kumar is accused of plotting the kidnapping of builder Raju Singh in order to murder him over a dispute about financial transactions in 2014 near Patna. Singh was later found by the police.
Kartik Kumar is facing trial along with 17 others in the case registered at Bihta police station in Patna district under several Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including 363 (kidnapping), 364 (kidnapping with intent to murder), and 365 (Secret, unjustified kidnapping with intent to imprison).
On July 16, a Danapur court had issued an arrest warrant against the lawmaker after he failed to appear and directed the police to arrest him. The Patna high court had dismissed his anticipatory bail petition and directed him to surrender in the trial court.
On August 12, the additional district and sessions court at Danapur ordered that “no coercive action” could be taken against Kumar till September 1.
On his part, Kartik Kumar said he had been falsely implicated in the case and that there was no warrant against him. “I have duly mentioned this case against me in my affidavit while filing my nomination papers for the election to legislative council,” he said.
Nitish Kumar had split with the BJP earlier this month and formed a government with Lau Prasad’s RJD and other parties. The Chief Minister and Lalu Prasad’s son Tejashwi Yadav took oath on August 10. Five days later, Nitish Kumar added 31 ministers.
