Bihar Minister Kartik Kumar, an accused in a 2014 kidnapping case, resigned from the state Cabinet on Wednesday, 31 August, amid protests by the Opposition.
Kumar, an MLC of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), was the law minister in the Nitish Kumar-led 'mahagathbandhan' government. He reportedly put in his papers hours after he was moved to the far less significant Sugarcane Department.
The chief minister's office said that Kumar's resignation had been accepted and forwarded to Governor Fagu Chauhan. Revenue and Land Reforms Minister, Alok Kumar Mehta, has taken up the additional charge of the Sugarcane Department.
Meanwhile, a Danapur court rejected Kumar's anticipatory bail plea in the kidnapping case.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had launched a massive offensive against the Bihar government over the induction of Kumar, who is also known as Kartikeya Singh, into the Cabinet.
'BJP Trying to Tarnish Image of Bihar Govt': Kumar
After resigning, Kumar said that the BJP wanted to "tarnish" the image of the Bihar government and did not want a minister from the Bhumihar community to be a part of the state Cabinet.
"BJP couldn't tolerate a minister from Bhumihar community. They want to tarnish my image. I've been a government teacher for 28 years. I trust the judiciary and hope to get justice. I resigned because all of it was tarnishing the image of our government," Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Earlier, CM Nitish Kumar had claimed that he had no knowledge about the controversy regarding Singh, who is considered to be close to Anant Kumar Singh – a former MLA who was disqualified in July after being convicted in a case pertaining to the recovery of explosives and arms from his residence.
"The matter is being looked into. Whatever is needed will be done," the CM had earlier said.
Meanwhile, Kumar is scheduled to appear before a court on Thursday, 1 September, in connection with an arrest warrant against him in the kidnapping case, as per The Indian Express.
(With inputs from The Indian Express and ANI.)
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