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Rift in Bihar Samata widens

Patna Jan. 4. The rift in the Bihar Samata Party widened today with its national general secretary, Satish Kumar, considered close to the Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, deciding to convene a State committee meeting here on January 19 to take important organisational decisions against the wishes of the State party president, Raguhnath Jha.

``I have called the meeting without taking the consent of Mr. Jha or the national president, George Fernandes ... Being a national general secretary of the Samata Party, I have the powers to convene the State committee meeting,'' he said.

Reacting to Mr. Kumar's move, Mr. Jha and the party national spokesman, Shambhu Srivastava, said the meeting lacked validity according to the party constitution.

Mr. Kumar said MPs, MLAs, State committee members and leaders of various wings of the party would be invited except P. K. Sinha, MLC, who was removed from the post of the State spokesman on January 2 by him and his party counterpart, Lalan Singh, MP.

The State party vice-president, Shyam Sunder Singh Dheeraj, who along with Mr. Kumar had walked out of an NDA meeting here on January 2 chaired by the Defence Minister and the NDA convener, Mr. George Fernandes, against slighting of the Bihar NDA convener, Mr. Nitish Kumar, said Mr. Satish Kumar was empowered to convene a State committee meeting.

Mr. Kumar was not duty bound to seek Mr. Jha or Mr. Fernandes' permission, he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jha said today that Mr. Sinha continued to be the party spokesman and Mr. Satish Kumar had no right to remove him.

``The action is ridiculous ... Only the national president has the right to sack or appoint any functionary.''

He also disapproved of Mr. Satish Kumar's convening the State committee meeting and said he would apprise the national president of the development.

PTI

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