Date:15/04/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/04/15/stories/2003041505111100.htm

National

Demand for removal of Nitish Kumar as Bihar NDA convener

By Our Staff Correspondent

Nitish Kumar

PATNA APRIL 14. While the Nitish Kumar faction may well have precipitated a split in the Samata Party by its action on Sunday, the George Fernandes group has gone on the offensive demanding that the Railway Minister be removed as convener of the NDA's State unit. Sunday's action of removing the Samata Legislature Party leader, Uma Shanker Singh, and replacing him with Upendra Kushwaha has virtually put the ball in the Bihar Assembly Speaker's court. Similarly, the Legislative Council will be required to adjudicate on the petition to recognise Mangni Lal Mandal as the party's leader in place of P.K. Sinha.

The former State unit chief, Raghunath Jha, claimed that the party's Central leadership had sent the names of both Mr. Singh and Mr. Sinha to the Assembly and the Council respectively. In the circumstances, the general feeling is that the presiding officers of the two Houses would have little option but to recognise the two separate factions, formalising a split.

Should that be the case, the numbers game would become crucial and Mr. Kumar would be forced to form his own party, as at the Central level, Mr. Fernandes clearly had the edge. Notwithstanding the fact that quite a few MPs attended Sunday's meeting of the State council and the State executive and that a majority of the legislators were present at the legislative wing gathering, their loyalty would get clear only in case of a split.

George Fernandes

Mr. Jha claimed that Mr. Kumar might find himself isolated with no or little support within the Lok Sabha. Of the 10 Lok Sabha members from Bihar, at least eight are said to be with Mr. Fernandes. Mr. Jha was confident that the only MP supporting Mr. Kumar would also join their ranks in due course.

As for their strength among the legislators, Mr. Sinha maintained that at least 12 of the 33 had stayed away from yesterday's gathering and that the number would increase in the days to come as few could be expected to quit the parent party.

Developments in the Samata Party are likely to take a final shape after Mr. Fernandes' return from China. In the meantime, his supporters here demanded not only Mr. Kumar's expulsion from the party but also as Chairman of the State NDA coordination committee. "The man who had destroyed the party, Mr. Jha maintained, could not be expected to carry the fight into the Laloo Prasad Yadav camp''.

He said he had already conveyed his feelings to the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the NDA convener (Mr. Fernandes), and hoped that the matter would be decided at the steering committee of the NDA. Mr. Jha claimed that he submitted a list of charges against Mr. Kumar to the Prime Minister but declined to specify the same.

Mr. Jha threw sufficient hints that Mr. Fernandes was unlikely to take any action on the recommendations made by the State council maintaining that these were unconstitutional. At the same time, he did not lose sight of the fact that their earlier demands had been fulfilled, be it restoration of the State executive, the revocation of suspension of Brahmanand Mandal, MP, or restoration of Mr. Sinha as the party spokesman.