Patna: Former Union minister RCP Singh on Thursday said CM Nitish Kumar’s decision to seek membership of the Rajya Sabha could be a personal one, but the “available circumstances” suggested that there might be more to the story.Singh, popularly known as RCP, was once considered a close associate of Nitish before being expelled from the JD(U).Speaking to a section of the reporters, RCP said the development appeared unusual because barely three months ago the NDA contested the Bihar assembly elections under Nitish’s leadership and secured a historic mandate.He pointed out that Nitish subsequently took oath as chief minister for a record tenth time and had since been actively reviewing development work in the state.“Right now, he is carrying out a review of development projects through his Samriddhi Yatra, has even announced several policies for the state, and recently attended the budget session of the Bihar assembly. A close look at these incidents indicates that if he was willing to go to Rajya Sabha, why was he involved in such activities?” RCP asked.He added that the electoral mandate had been given to Nitish and that the responsibility of fulfilling the promises made to voters rested with him.“The mandate was given to Nitish, but he is headed for Delhi. Can his replacement discharge this responsibility properly?” he asked, adding that there was a significant difference between Nitish himself executing the task and someone doing it under his “guidance”.RCP also dismissed suggestions that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was behind Nitish’s possible move to the Rajya Sabha.“If the BJP was interested in having its own CM, it could have done so in 2020 itself when it got more seats than the JD(U), and Nitish himself suggested his partner appoint its own CM. He agreed to become the CM only after requests from the Prime Minister and the home minister,” RCP said.
