I shall now be with BJP for ever: Nitish Kumar days after return to NDA
Patna, Feb 8: Less than a month after he returned to the BJP-led NDA, a coalition he has quit twice in a decade, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday asserted his latest realignment was going to be "permanent" and would last "for ever".
Kumar, who is also the JD(U) president, was talking to reporters in Patna after returning from Delhi where he had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda, among others.
"I have come back to the alliance where I belong, and from which I had been away for a while. Now I am going to be here for ever. Our ties will be permanent," claimed Kumar, whose latest volte-face has come as a blow to the opposition bloc INDIA, which he had helped form.
Notably, Kumar has been a BJP ally since 1996 when he was with the Samata Party headed by late George Fernandes. His first break up with the BJP was in 2013 when he quit the NDA in protest against the national ascendance of Modi, who was then the chief minister of Gujarat.
He realigned with the BJP in 2017, only to sever ties five years later, when he accused the party of trying to weaken the JD(U).
The longest-serving CM of the state, who has been demanding central help like special category status and a special economic package, was also asked if he received any assurances during his Delhi trip.
Kumar did not give a direct reply, but said, "I have been working for Bihar's progress since 2005. There is no cause for worry. Everything has been discussed."
He was also asked about anxieties with regard to the trust vote his government would seek on February 12, with Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, who belongs to the RJD, refusing to step down despite a no-confidence motion moved by NDA legislators.
Kumar dismissed all the apprehensions, saying, "There is nothing to worry about. Everything has been discussed, within my party and also with our alliance partners."
His key aide Sanjay Kumar Jha, a JD(U) national general secretary and former minister who had accompanied Kumar on the Delhi tour, quipped "it is a number game, after all".
In the 243-strong assembly, the NDA, which includes four MLAs of former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha and an Independent, has 128 MLAs, six more than the majority mark.
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T'gana RTC strike: Talks between govt, employees successful
Hyderabad (PTI): Talks between employees of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (RTC) who were on strike and the state government concluded successfully on Friday as the government agreed to the key demands of the workmen.
Following a day-long marathon of talks between the leaders of the employees' Joint Action Committee (JAC) and the cabinet sub-committee, the government announced after midnight that it acceded to the demands, including a merger of RTC with the government, 11 per cent pay revision and elections to the employees' unions.
A committee comprising officials and employee leaders would be appointed over the merger of RTC with the government, it said.
The RTC management has also agreed to address the remaining issues as well, an official release said.
The employees would call off their strike and the RTC buses would hit the roads shortly, it said.
The employees had been on an indefinite strike since April 22 over a series of demands, including the merger of RTC with the government.
Earlier in the day, a driver of the RTC, who attempted suicide on April 23 during the strike, died at a hospital here in the early hours of Friday.
Shankar Goud, a 55-year-old driver, set himself ablaze by pouring petrol at Narsampet in Warangal district when the employees were staging a protest on Thursday in support of their demands.
Goud suffered serious burns, was initially admitted to a state-run hospital in Warangal, and later shifted to a super-speciality hospital in Hyderabad for advanced treatment.
"He succumbed (to injuries) at about 1.30 am on Friday," a senior official said.
The driver’s body was taken to his relative’s village, Muttojipet in Warangal district, for funeral rites.
Tension prevailed in Muttojipet as his family members and RTC employees attempted to take the body to the Narsampet bus station, where he worked, to enable his colleagues to pay their last respects. However, police did not permit this, citing law-and-order concerns.
This led to a deadlock before the funeral could proceed.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar criticised the Telangana government for not allowing the body to be taken to the Narsampet bus station.
Kumar, Minister of State (Home), visited Muttojipet village in Warangal district, where the funeral was held, and paid homage to Goud.
“They (family members) want to take the body to the bus depot for five minutes. Is the RTC bus depot in Pakistan or Bangladesh? They are emotionally attached to taking the body there. The government is hurting sentiments and creating fear among RTC employees,” Kumar told reporters.
He also expressed anger at the police for not allowing the body to be taken to the bus station and staged a protest, according to a release from his office.
RTC employees and BJP workers attempted to take the mortal remains in an ambulance to Narsampet, but were stopped by the police.
Later, after discussions with the police, the family members and RTC employees agreed to conduct the funeral in the village.
Sanjay Kumar, stating he would abide by the family’s decision, left the village after the funeral was conducted there.
Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh, a house, and a government job would be provided to the kin of Goud.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed shock over the employee’s death and conveyed deep condolences to the grieving family, according to the release.
The RTC employees’ JAC had earlier announced an agitation programme from April 24 to 29, including silent marches and submission of memorandums to MLAs and other leaders.
