Bihar Floor Test: After winning the floor test in the Bihar Assembly on Monday, the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) lodged a complaint against the opposition RJD, accusing them of attempting to poach the ruling coalition MLAs. An FIR has been filed at the Kotwali police station in Patna regarding the kidnapping of JDU MLAs Bima Bharti and Dilip Rai.
JDU MLA Sudhanshu Shekhar has filed an FIR accusing JDU MLA Dr Sanjeev and contractor Sunil Kumar Rai, who are reportedly close to Tejashwi Yadav, of kidnapping JDU MLAs.
Allegation of luring Rs 10 crore
Sudhanshu Shekhar has further alleged in the FIR that an offer of Rs 10 crore was being made to induce JDU MLAs to defect. Sunil Kumar, reportedly close to Tejashwi, was the one offering this inducement. Sudhanshu Shekhar, who filed the FIR, is currently present at the Chief Minister’s residence.
“At 8.32 pm on February 9, a WhatsApp call was received from the mobile number of Ranjit Kumar of Hajipur. He told me that Engineer Sunil has come and wants to talk to you. When I talked to him, he asked me to join the Grand Alliance. He offered to give Rs 5 crore now and Rs 5 crore after work is done. If you don’t want to take the money then take a ministerial post. After this, I postponed it saying that I would think about it. After this, he said that if you ask, I will come to your house also,” the complaint reads.
Shekhar said that after this, on February 10, at 10.11 am, a call was received on WhatsApp from former minister Nagmani Kushwaha that Akhilesh Kumar wanted to talk and would contact him soon. “An hour later, at 11.02 minutes, an internet call came from a number and the person calling told his name as Akhilesh and said that he is close to Rahul Gandhi. He said to come to their said and in return whatever mt demand is, will be fulfilled. He asked to support their alliance in the trust vote,” he said.
The JD(U) MLA further said that Hilsa MLA Krishna Murari Sharan also said that RJD spokesperson Shashi Yadav had called him on January 30 or 31 and said that a person would meet you in the morning, talk to him. “The next day in the morning, a person from the Hilsa assembly constituency met him and said that if you voted in favour of RJD in the trust motion on 12th February, you would get a ministerial post or you would get whatever money you wanted,” the FIR reads.
Sundhashu Shekhar has told the police that his party’s MLA Niranjan Kumar Mehta has also been lured and threatened to vote in favour of RJD. “In this entire episode, the role of my party’s Parbatta MLA Sanjeev Kumar is doubtful. They are also luring and threatening many party MLAs to vote in favour of RJD,” he said.
“I have received information from fellow MLAs that my party’s MLAs Bima Bharti and Dilip Rai have been threatened and forcibly kidnapped so that they can be forced to vote against my party. After inquiring about all the contact sources and family members about the MLAs, their whereabouts have not been found yet. There is a suspicion that my party’s MLA Dr. Sanjeev Kumar and an engineer belonging to the RJD party and their unknown associates have carried out a criminal conspiracy and carried out the kidnapping incident,” he added.
Nitish Kumar wins Bihar floor test
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today emerged victorious in the Assembly floor test amid the walkout by former ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) led by Tejashwi Yadav. The trust vote took place two weeks after Kumar switched sides from the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) to join the NDA bloc.
CM Nitish Kumar-led government got 129 votes in its favour. The Opposition did not attend the voting as they staged a walkout when Kumar was speaking in the Assembly. The Bihar assembly has a strength of 243 MLAs.
Earlier in January, Nitish Kumar, who had reportedly gone into a sulk after not being named the convenor of I.N.D.I.A, the Opposition bloc that took shape through his efforts, dumped the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar and the national coalition to form a new government with the support of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Putting to rest frenzied speculations around his future and that of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, Nitish resigned as chief minister on January 28, his second volte face in less than 18 months.
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