BJP fires Bihar lawmaker whose utterance against Nitish threatened NDA govt

PATNA—The BJP on Friday suspended its revolting party lawmaker Tunnaji Pandey whose utterances against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar was putting a lot of strain on the ruling NDA government in the state.

State BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal issued the order of suspension on Friday. In his letter addressed to Pandey, Jaiswal said he was issued show-case notice by the party for having spoken in violation of party discipline.

“Despite that you have violated the party discipline which proves you consider yourself above the party. So, you are being immediately suspended from the party,” Jaiswal said.

The action comes after the JD-U leadership lodged strong protest over the conduct of the BJP legislator and demanded action against the leader.

यह बयान आप तक भी पहुंच ही रहा होगा, @sanjayjaiswalMP जी।

ऐसा बयान अगर किसी जद(यू) के नेता ने भाजपा या उसके किसी नेता के बारे में दिया होता तो……अबतक………!https://t.co/Fa4fHnx7SG @abpbihar https://t.co/rXNmyELUWo

— Upendra Kushwaha (@UpendraKushJDU) June 2, 2021

First, it was JD-U’s national parliamentary board president Upendra Kushwaha who brought the issue to the notice of the BJP.

Then several other leaders such state party president Umesh Singh Kushwaha and party spokesperson Sanjay Singh also registered protests over it.

Pandey came into the firing line of the JD-U after he termed chief minister Nitish Kumar as a “chief minister of circumstances”.

मैंने जो कहा सच ही कहा, इस बार के भी हुए विधानसभा चुनाव में भी जनता ने @yadavtejashwi जी को अपना मत देकर चुना था लेकिन सरकारी तंत्र का दुरुपयोग करके नीतीश जी आज सत्ता में राज कर रहे हैं।@RJDforIndia https://t.co/wdheM7lM04

— Tuna Ji Pandey MLC (@tunnaji_pandey) May 31, 2021

Then he alleged that “the Bihar electorate had given the mandate to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav but Nitishji has grabbed the throne by misusing the government machinery”.

Nitish Kumar stays in power with the support of the BJP in Bihar. BJP has 74 members in the Bihar assembly whereas the JD-U which Kumar heads was able to win only 43 seats.