Samrat Choudhary downplays delay in portfolio allocation, cabinet expansion

Patna: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Friday downplayed the delay in allocation of portfolios among those who were sworn in to the new cabinet headed by Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) president, about a week ago.

Choudhary, who also heads the BJP’s state unit, hit out at the RJD, which was stripped of power as a result of Kumar’s latest volte-face and has since been mocking the NDA for its "inability" to decide on portfolio allocation and cabinet expansion.

“Both cabinet expansion and portfolio allocation are the prerogative of the honourable chief minister. These things will be dealt with without any difficulty. The RJD should remember its own track record. In 1995, it had run a government for nearly a year and a half, with just 12 ministers”, said Choudhary.

The reference was to the government headed by RJD president Lalu Prasad, who was then with the undivided Janata Dal. Bihar then included what has now become Jharkhand and the state assembly’s strength used to be 324, compared with 243 at present.

Choudhary, who is one of the two BJP leaders designated as deputy CMs in the new government, said, “In our government, everything is going on smoothly. We already have nine members in the cabinet, including the CM. Besides there are two deputy CMs. There is no problem anywhere." Besides Choudhary, senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha, a former assembly Speaker who was the leader of the opposition until Kumar returned to the NDA on Sunday, has been designated a deputy chief minister.

According to NDA sources, the allocation of portfolios will have to be completed by next week, ahead of the budget session of the assembly commencing on February 12, when the newly formed government will seek a vote of confidence.

The sources said one of the points of contention was the crucial Home portfolio, which Kumar has kept with himself during his nearly two decades of his chief ministership but which the BJP wants for itself in order to have direct control over the state’s police.

Choudhary interacted with journalists on the sidelines of a function which was organised by the BJP to celebrate the birth anniversary of Jagdev Prasad, a towering OBC figure who remained active in politics till he was killed in police firing in 1974.

Addressing the function, Choudhary blamed the Congress, which then ruled Bihar, for the killing of Prasad, who belonged to the same Koeri (Kushwaha) community as himself, and underscored the BJP’s pro-social justice stance.

“RJD president Lalu Prasad, a Congress ally, often behaves as if he deserves the credit for Mandal Commission report’s implementation. The recommendations were implemented by the government of V P Singh who did not have a majority. The BJP, which had about 80 MPs, helped him in getting it passed. The Congress, which was then over 200-strong in Parliament, stood in opposition," Choudhary added.

He pointed out, “The BJP’s previous avatar Jan Sangh helped Karpoori Thakur in implementing quotas for the backward classes in Bihar in the 1970s.

"It was under an NDA government in the state when quotas were introduced for these classes in local bodies' elections. And, after 70 years of Independence, it took someone like Prime Minister Narendra Modi to realise that there are poor and needy people among the upper castes and introduce reservations for economically weaker sections".