Why is Nitish, known for no-tolerance policy, mum on graft charges against Bihar ministers

Even as damning allegations made against three of his cabinet ministers by Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishor have put the Nitish Kumar government on the back foot just ahead of the Assembly polls in Bihar, the chief minister’s complete silence on the issue has surprised one and all, especially given his zero-tolerance policy against corruption.

Kishor recently made several allegations of corruption against Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and ministers Ashok Choudhary and Mangal Pandey, and claimed that the NDA-led Nitish government has left behind the ‘Jungle Raj’ government of Lalu Prasad Yadav in the 90s in corruption.

What Prashant Kishor alleges

Kishor claims that he has documentary evidence of corruption and criminal cases against the three ministers.

Last month, he alleged that Ashok, a JD(U) leader and close aide of Nitish, had acquired property worth Rs 200 crore in the past three years and called for his resignation. On Monday (September 29), Kishor alleged that Ashok had amassed property worth Rs 500 crore through illicit means, and he will soon make the proof public.

In the same press conference, Kishor said BJP leader and Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Samrat was an accused in a 1995 murder case involving the killing of seven people in Tarapur and should be arrested immediately.

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Also questioning Samrat’s educational qualification, Kishor alleged that the JD(U) leader had forged documents to claim that he was a minor at the time of the murders to get relief in the case. He claimed that Samrat was actually 26 in 1995, as he himself declared his age as 51 years in an election affidavit in 2020.

“We have documentary evidence to prove that Samrat Choudhary lied to the court and used a fake certificate to get bail,” Kishor said.

Kishor also accused Samrat of changing his name over the last three decades – from Samrat Kumar Maurya to Rakesh Kumar to Samrat Choudhary.

Stating that it was shameful for a murder accused to hold a constitutional post, Kishor had demanded Nitish to take steps against Samrat.

The JSP chief said he has already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding action against the Bihar deputy chief minister. Kishore, in August, alleged that Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey, a BJP leader, purchased a flat worth Rs 86 lakh in Dwarka in Delhi with the help of BJP state president Dilip Jaiswal during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020. Kishore claimed that Pandey repaid the debt by recognising Jaiswal’s medical college as a deemed university.

Kishore has also alleged that between 2019 and 2020, Rs 2.12 crore was deposited into the bank account of Pandey’s wife Urmila, but the minister has failed to disclose the source of the funds.

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Zero tolerance against graft

Nitish’s inaction against his cabinet ministers is stark, given his iron-fisted stance against corruption, which saw him forcing at least six cabinet colleagues to resign since 2005 after allegations of corruption surfaced against them.

In 2005, Jitan Ram Manjhi was the first minister to resign over his alleged involvement in a fake B.Ed. degree racket in the 1990s.

In 2008, another minister, Ramanand Prasad Singh, was forced to resign in an old corruption case against him. In 2011, Ramadhar Singh was forced to quit as minister after it was found that a court in 1995 had declared him absconding in a case related to communal speech.

In another such case, Awadesh Kushwaha was forced to resign as minister following a sting operation in which he was seen taking a Rs 4 lakh bribe. Similarly, in 2018, then minister Manju Verma was sacked over her alleged involvement in the infamous Muzaffarpur girl remand home rape case.

In 2020, Mewa Lal Choudhary was forced to quit three days after taking the oath as minister after a pending corruption case against him surfaced.

Nitish’s silence puzzles partymen

Despite the string of allegations, not just Nitish but top JD(U) leaders have also chosen to be mum on the matter. The only exception has been JD (U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar, who has publicly demanded that Ashok to reply or explain the allegations of corruption against him.

Known for not mincing his words, Neeraj has said that the charges made by Kishor against Ashok were a direct attack on Nitish.

“Our leader Nitish Kumar has a track record of zero tolerance against corruption; there is no question of compromise on it,” Neeraj said.

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Another senior JD(U) leader, a former MLA, told The Federal that there are murmurs in the party, with many questioning Nitish’s silence on the allegations against the ministers despite his claims of having no tolerance for corruption and crime.

“We have failed to understand the silence of Nitish Kumar. This is against his style of functioning. It is bound to tarnish his clean and his zero-tolerance-against-corruption image,” the leader said.

‘Nitish’s health failing, party run by coterie’

The JD(U) leader further said that Nitish is no longer what he used to be, say three years ago, and most of the calls of the party are taken by a coterie that controls him.

“I heard from sources close to his official residence here that Nitish Kumar is not well. His physical and mental condition are not allowing him to work like he did in the past. Besides, a coterie of powerful leaders, who act as advisors, now control him and manage the show in the party and the government”.

This JD (U) leader recalled that even in 2022, Nitish demonstrated his zero tolerance against corruption when a newly-appointed law minister, Kartik Singh, was forced to quit days after he took oath, after he was found to be an accused in a kidnapping case.

Bihar-based political analyst DM Diwakar, who has closely observed the state’s political trajectory since the mid-1980s, says Kishor’s attack on the ministers in Nitish’s cabinet is an indirect assault on the chief minister to dent his image ahead of the Assembly polls, and when he knows Nitish is on a weaker footing.

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“By raising serious corruption charges against cabinet ministers, followed by no action against them, Kishor wants to break Nitish’s much-publicised zero-tolerance-against-corruption image. The timing is also important, especially when Nitish is still in the race for the chief minister’s post,” says Diwakar, a former director of the AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies in Patna.

Is BJP pulling the strings?

Even though two of the ministers belong to the BJP, an ally of the JD(U) in Bihar, Diwakar hints at a possible hand of the saffron party in the controversy just to weaken Nitish’s image and standing in the polls.

Diwakar says the latest string of allegations will indirectly benefit the saffron party, which has been clandestinely working to weaken Nitish’s political stature and support base as it wants to install its own chief minister in the event of an NDA win.

“The BJP does not want Nitish to continue as chief minister as it is aiming to place its own leader on the chief minister’s chair. In the 2020 Assembly polls, the BJP used Chirag Paswan, now a Union minister and head of LJP(R), to weaken Nitish, and this time Prashant Kishor is doing the same. Prashant himself has admitted that he received a huge donation from a businessman, known for his association with the RSS,” Diwakar said.

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Even though the BJP has made it clear that the NDA will fight the polls under Nitish’s leadership, the party has been dragging its feet on reaching a consensus over the chief ministerial face for the alliance. Amid speculations over the likely sidelining of Nitish post polls due to his suspected ill-health and the BJP’s ambition to install its own chief minister, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah also made no mention about the matter during their recent visits to Bihar. At this juncture, sources in the Bihar BJP unit view the latest controversy a golden opportunity for the saffron party to replace Nitish.

‘Nitish a liability, BJP using him to win polls’

Seconding Diwakar's views, political activist Satyanarayan Madan says the BJP has been trying to weaken Nitish since the last Assembly election, and Kishor’s allegations will surely discredit the JD(U) chief’s claim of a fight against corruption.

Calling Kishor another edition of controversial politician Subramanian Swamy, Madan says, “One thing is clear. Nitish Kumar is no longer an asset but a liability for BJP, which is using his name to contest the upcoming polls to get adequate numbers to form its own government – a much-awaited dream.”

So, why is Nitish silent?

Political observers who are trying to decode Nitish’s surprising silence on the corruption allegations against the ministers attribute it to his failing health and political compulsions, as he still needs the support of the accused ministers to win the polls.

In the caste-ridden electoral politics in the state, Ashok, a Dalit, brings a large support base from the community for Nitish’s JD(U). Forcing him to resign or sack him a month away from the election on corruption allegations will make Dalits unhappy.

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Similarly, Samrat, an OBC, leads an overwhelming voter base from the community for the NDA. He has also been emerging as a chief ministerial face of the BJP. Action against him will not go well with members of his caste, which is why the BJP is also mum on the allegations against him, the observers say.