Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Wins Trust Vote With 131 Votes
The political scandal began with a CBI case against Tejashwi and his family over a corruption case.
- Nitish Kumar wins trust vote in the one-day special session of the Bihar assembly
- Kumar took oath as Bihar’s Chief Minister on Thursday
- Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi was appointed the Deputy CM
- Kumar resigned as Bihar CM after JD(U)’s legislative meet on Wednesday
- PM Modi congratulated Nitish for “joining fight against corruption”
- ED registered case of money laundering against Lalu and family members on Thursday
Two days after he dramatically embraced the BJP, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday proved his majority in the Bihar assembly while the RJD protested in the house during the confidence vote.
Contrary to fears, no cross-voting took place during the show of strength. Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Nitish Kumar sailed through with 131 votes in his favour and 108 against. Soon after the assembly met, Nitish Kumar moved a resolution to seek a trust vote.
Apparently convinced that the JD-U-BJP government had adequate support to win the motion, RJD members protested in and out of the house. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) accused Nitish Kumar of insulting the mandate of 2015 by joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party and dumping his election allies the RJD and the Congress which made him the Chief Minister.
Nitish Kumar said the 2015 mandate was for 'janta ki sewa' (serving people), not for anything else. "The mandate was for governance," he said in a short speech in the assembly. He said no one can lecture him on secularism. "I know and understand secularism."
Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, who was the Deputy Chief Minister, said voters had been stabbed in the back.
Tejashwi Yadav Addresses Media After Floor Test
These comments come after Tejashwi said “the government formed with the help of BJP is murder of democracy”earlier in the day in the Bihar assembly.
Nitish Kumar Wins Trust Vote
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar won the trust vote in Bihar assembly on Friday with the BJP backing him. He got 131 votes in favour and 108 votes against him.
Tejashwi Yadav and Nitish Kumar Face off in Bihar Assembly
The RJD accused Nitish Kumar of insulting the mandate of 2015 by joining hands with the BJP and dumping his election allies the RJD and the Congress which made him the chief minister.
Nitish Kumar said the 2015 mandate was for janta ki sewa (serving people), not for anything else.
Nitish further added:
Tejashwi Yadav hit back by saying voters had been stabbed in the back.
Tejashwi said Nitish had insulted the people of Bihar by joining hands with the BJP.
Speaker Calls for Lobby Division to Test Strength
Bihar Speaker calls for lobby division to test the strength of the Nitish Kumar government. MLAs will have to sign a register for or against the confidence motion.
Floor Test Begins
The floor test in Bihar Assembly begins after heated exchanges between Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav.
RJD Didn't Follow Coalition Dharma: Nitish Kumar
Hitting back the RJD and Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said, “Mohammed Shahabuddin was protected by the RJD. The mandate was not for doing this, but for development.”
He said that he tried to continue the coalition but RJD didn’t follow coalition dharma.
“Secularism should not be used to justify corruption. Won't support people who make money through wrong ways” says Nitish Kumar.
Nitish Kumar Betrayed the 2015 Mandate: Tejashwi Yadav
Tejashwi Yadav attacked Nitish Kumar and BJP and said that Nitish Kumar has betrayed the 2015 mandate which was for five years and it was against the BJP
“Nitish Kumar could not dare to sack me…. The BJP is greedy. Nitish fought alone in 1995 and got seven seats. In 2014, he was reduced to two seats. Where was his image then,”
Accusing Nitish Kumar of tying up with the killers of Mahatma Gandhi, Tejashwi said, “He (Nitish) transformed from ‘Hey Ram’ to ‘Jai Shri Ram’.” Questioning Sushil Modi’s integrity, Yadav asked, “Sushil Modi is also facing cases. So why did he take oath?”
“Nitish Kumar is still my uncle, but he betrayed me. If Nitish had asked me to resign, I would have thought of it,” Yadav said.
Bihar Assembly Session Begins
The assembly session began as Nitish Kumar moved the confidence motion. His former deputy Tejashwi is seated in the chair kept for the Leader of Opposition. He has reportedly prepared a speech and wants 40 minutes to speak.
Patna HC to Head RJD's Plea Against Bihar Guv Inviting Nitish Kumar to Form Govt
The Patna High Court will hear RJD plea on Monday against Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi’s decision to invite Nitish Kumar to form the government despite RJD being the single-largest party, News18 reported. The RJD lost power in the state on Wednesday when Nitish stepped down and broke away from the Mahagathbandhan to ally with the BJP.
Nitish Kumar and Sushil Kumar Modi Reach Assembly
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi reached the Bihar assembly for the floor test.
RJD MLAs Protest Outside Bihar Assembly
RJD and Congress MLAs staged a protest outside the Bihar Assembly ahead of the floor test on Friday.
No Leader is Unhappy, Says JD(U)'s Ajay Alok
Dismissing reports of a split in the party, JD(U) leader Ajay Alok said that no lead in unhappy in the party. Referring to Ali Anwar's statements, Alok said that Ali Anwar issued statement but he has also said that this is not a revolt and that he will speak in party forum.
"There has been no statement from Sharad ji's side, it is a rumour," he said.
Security Tightened Outside Bihar Assembly
Security was tightened outside Bihar assembly ahead of the floor test today.
Shiv Sena Mocks BJP-JD (U) Reunion, Reminds History of Venomous Salvos
Responding to the 'ghar wapsi' by Janata Dal (United) in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Shiv Sena on Friday fired a sardonic salvo at the new tie-up and said both the BJP and the JDU, who are brimming with bonhomie presently, in the past two years left no stone unturned in bringing each other down.
Mocking the history of see-sawing ties between Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shiv Sena questioned that though the two prominent leaders are oozing love and heaping praises at each other, how will they explain the venom they spewed against one another in the past years.
"Amit Shah said that if Nitish Kumar wins Pakistan would celebrate, so is Pakistan celebrating now? Seems like the BJP has itself made Pakistan happy by collaborating with Nitish," Shiv Sena Editorial mouth piece Saamana stated.
10 Bihar Congress MLAs to Join JD(U): Reports
As many as 10 Bihar Congress MLAs may defect to the JD(U) ahead of Nitish Kumar's floor test in Assembly. The MLAs showed resentment against the Congress top leadership, India Today reported.
Nitish to Seek Trust Vote Today
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will seek a trust vote during the one-day special session of the Bihar assembly convened at 11 am on Friday.
The session was convened after the Bihar Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi asked Nitish to prove his majority on the floor of the House by Friday.
Nitish Kumar's JD(U) to Support Opposition's VP Candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi
With Nitish Kumar's JD(U) government in Bihar deflecting back to the BJP after a politically charged 24 hours, the question that now looms over the party is their support for the Opposition's pick for Vice President – Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
Sources close to Kumar said that his newly-stitched patch-up with BJP would not affect his support for Gandhi as the Vice Presidential candidate.
Sushil Modi to Travel to Delhi After Floor Test
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi will travel to Delhi after the floor test, CNN News18 reported. Modi will decide the names of ministers in the Bihar Legislative Assembly with central leaders.
An 'Unhappy' Sharad Yadav Reaches Out to Congress, Meets JD(U) Members
Former JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav is reportedly unhappy with Nitish Kumar’s decision. Yadav made it clear that he is committed to fighting the BJP and Prime Minister Modi, reportedly. There were two meetings of an 18-party front which included the JD(U), reported NDTV.
Additionally, News18 sources claimed that Yadav also reached out to the Congress. He met Rahul Gandhi at Jawahar Bhawan in New Delhi. Following this, Yadav scheduled a meeting of JD(U) members at his residence at 5 pm.
JD(U) MPs Veerendra Kumar and Ali Anwar reached Sharad Yadav's residence in New Delhi on Thursday evening. “We never expected this from Nitish Kumar, even Sharad Yadav was not kept in loop,” Ali said.
Will Not Allow Monsoon Session of Bihar Assembly Unless Nitish, Sushil Resign: RJD
Angry at not being invited to form the government, the RJD on Thursday threatened it will not allow the monsoon session of the Bihar Assembly to be run unless new Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi resign.
The monsoon session of the state Assembly begins on Friday.
Demanding that Nitish Kumar and Modi resign, senior RJD leader Jagdanand Singh said: "RJD is the largest party in the state Assembly. We have majority but were not invited by the Governor to form government. The RJD will not allow the Assembly to function," Singh said.
A Confident Sushil Modi Asks For Floor Test
Speaking to CNN-News18 earlier on Thursday, Sushil Modi said that the Nitish-Modi government will bring about a “miracle” in Bihar.
Echoing each other’s concerns about Bihar’s development, Nitish and Sushil said, “Development will be a priority, we will take Bihar to greater heights.”
Kerala JD(U) members oppose Nitish joining BJP
The Janata Dal(United)(JD(U) unit in Kerala on Thursday opposed Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for tying up with the BJP and announced it was severing ties with him. The chief of the party's Kerala unit, MP Veerendra Kumar, a Rajya Sabha member, told reporters in Delhi that he was even ready to quit the Upper House to pursue his fight against "fascist forces".
"Whatever the price, we're ready to pay," he said.
"We are not accepting the JD(U) joining the NDA and our relations with Nitish Kumar have ended. It's shocking that Nitish Kumar has joined the NDA. We all thought that he will fight the fascist tendencies but he has now become a part of it."
Veerendra Kumar said he expected JD-U senior leader Sharad Yadav and its MLAs in Bihar not to accept Nitish Kumar's decision. "I call upon Sharad Yadav and JD-U MLAs to say that we won't accept it."
ED Files Case Against Lalu Over Money Laundering
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a money laundering case against Lalu Prasad and his family members in a railway hotel allotment corruption case of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) tenure on Thursday.
The documents were provided to the CBI for scrutiny by the Railway Department, according to media sources.
Nitish is Greedy for Power, Says Lalu in Press Conference
In a series of tweets, RJD chief Lalu Prasad's younger son said Nitish and the BJP were "perturbed" by his performance as deputy chief minister, which is why they plotted to break up the 'grand alliance'.
He said that he entered politics with a keen desire to “write a positive story” but found himself face to face with an opportunist rival.
Nitish Kumar Betrayed Us: Rahul
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said Nitish Kumar has betrayed the grand alliance by siding with the BJP.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that the BJP’s amoral intention of forming government in states where they have lost the election defeats democracy. He further added that democracy requires seeking a fresh mandate should anybody resign.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the other hand, tweets congratulatory messages for both Nitish and Bihar after the oath-taking ceremony.
Union Health minister, JP Nadda said that ‘mahagathbandhan’ was an unfortunate alliance, adding that the BJP will work for the well being of Bihar.
Responding to PM Modi’s congratulatory wishes, Nitish said:
Nitish Swears in as Bihar CM, Again
Watch the Swearing-in Ceremony Live
RJD Members Block Mahatma Gandhi Setu, Connecting North Bihar with Patna
Akhilesh's Bollywood Jibe at Bihar
Akhilesh Yadav took a jibe at Nitish Kumar’s decision to join hands with the BJP. "Na na karte pyaar tumhi se kar bethe, karna tha inkar, magar ikraar tumhi se kar bethe," Yadav tweeted.
JDU Leaders Question Nitish's Conscience
Senior JDU leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ali Anwar questioned Nitish Kumar’s decision to join hands with the BJP.
Nitish Wants to Form Govt With Deshdrohis: Tejashwi
Threatening to hold a dharna if not called to form a government, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and his brother Tej Pratap Yadav led RJD workers and MLAs in a march towards the Raj Bhavan at around 2:30 am on 26 July.
After meeting Governor Tripathi, Tejashwi Yadav told the media that they’ve requested the former to stall the swearing-in ceremony which is to be held at 10 am, and to give the RJD an opportunity to prove majority on the floor.
He said that he has been made a scapegoat and that the ‘mahagathbandhan’ was an excuse as Nitish Kumar was looking for ways to join hands with the BJP.
He further lashed out at Nitish Kumar, and demanded to know if he had forgotten PM Narendra Modi’s DNA remark during a rally in 2015. PM Modi had then said that there was “some problem with Nitish Kumar’s DNA” – a jibe at his tendency to regularly switch political loyalties.
Sushil Kumar Will Be Bihar's Next Deputy CM
Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar will be sworn-in as Bihar’s next Deputy Chief Minister, state BJP President Nityanand Rai has announced.
Sushil Kumar told the media that the Governor invited the JD(U) and the BJP for oath-taking ceremony at 10 am on Thursday. He also said that a letter with support of 132 MLAs has been submitted to the Governor.
Tejashwi Yadav lashed out at Nitish Kumar as he questioned his rush to be re-appointed as the Bihar’s CM.
If Nitish Kumar was “proud of his moral values and honestly”, he wouldn’t have rushed to meet the governor at midnight to stake claim to form the government, Tejashwi alleged.
Yadav also threatened to stage a dharna if not called to form the government.
Lalu Attacks Nitish Kumar Over Resignation "Drama"
Turning the tables on Nitish, Lalu pointed out a case against him from 2009. The RJD chief questioned Nitish’s claims of fighting corruption and said:
BJP Not in Favour of Mid-term Polls in Bihar
Following Nitish Kumar’s resignation, the BJP called for a core meeting in New Delhi. Sushil Kumar Modi said at the meeting that the party is not in favour of mid-term elections. He further added:
PM Modi Congratulates Nitish in 'Joining Fight Against Corruption'
Soon after the resignation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted out congratulations to Nitish Kumar.
(Many congratulations to Nitish for joining the fight against corruption. 125 crore honest citizens welcome this decision.)
(The special development of the country and the bright future of Bihar, rising above political disagreements, uniting as one against corruption - these are the demands of the times.)
Nitish tweeted to the PM in return and said:
(I whole heartedly thank PM Modi for response through his tweet about our decision.)
Nitish Resigns as Bihar CM
After the Janata Dal United JD(U) legislative meet, Nitish Kumar resigned as Bihar Chief Minister. The entire JD(U) cabinet is likely to follow, according to some media reports. Speaking after the resignation, Kumar said:
Nitish Kumar Didn’t Ask For Tejashwi's Resignation: Lalu
Lalu said that the Bihar CM had not asked for Tejashwi’s resignation. He further added:
BJP Is Trying to Break Us: Tejashwi Yadav
On the issue of his resignation, Tejashwi said:
Sushil Modi had likened the state Chief Minister to a “pilot of a hijacked plane” earlier on Wednesday. Responding to Sushil Modi’s comments, Tejashwi said:
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