Nitish Kumar will not resign over Muzaffarpur rapes: JD-U

New Delhi: Under fire from the Opposition over the alleged abuse of minor girls at a state-funded shelter home in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, the ruling Janata Dal (United) asserted on Sunday that chief minister Nitish Kumar would not resign.

Senior party leader K.C. Tyagi said that the state government has already ordered a CBI inquiry into the case and is also ready for a Supreme Court-monitored probe.

Slamming the Opposition parties, Mr Tyagi said, “How can rape of young girls, which has shamed us, could be an issue for Opposition parties to unite against the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government in Bihar and demand his resignation. This politics over hapless victims in Bihar is the most unfortunate thing.”

He was referring to the RJD-led Opposition protest in Delhi on Saturday against the alleged rapes of minor girls in Muzaffarpur shelter home that was funded by the Bihar government.

The JD(U) leader said, “Nitish Kumar is a sensitive person and felt ashamed over the incident which the Opposition parties are trying to use to hit at his conscience so that he steps down. But, he will never step down, we will not let him do so.”

Mr Tyagi also slammed Opposition leaders, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, for attending the RJD-headed protest in Delhi and described his presence at the agitation as “unfortunate”.

It was a “friendship day” of parties seeking “political mileage” from the “unfortunate and shameful” incident in the state, he said.

The JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP said, “I also condemn Sitaram Yechury and D. Raja who have forgotten the killings of JNU president Chandra Shekhar and Purnia MLA Ajit Sarkar and joined the protest organised by the RJD.”

Goons had killed Shekhar, a CPI-ML activist, in 1997 and Sarkar of the CPI-M in 1998 while Lalu Prasad Yadav, founder of the RJD, and his wife were in the chief minister’s post in Bihar, respectively.  

Mr Tyagi accused the Opposition of using the Muzaffarpur incident to spread lies and conspiracy theories for political gains and to “help sand and liquor mafia who have been effectively checked by the Nitish government”.

Mr Tyagi also said that the Opposition parties want “anarchy” and “jungle raj” back in Bihar by replacing the JD(U) government led by Nitish Kumar.

He also demanded that all shelter homes for juveniles in the country should be probed under a monitoring committee of the apex court

The JD(U) spokesperson said that Nitish Kumar had written to the Patna high court for monitoring the probe into the Muzaffarpur case and asserted that the party was ready for such a probe by even a Supreme Court-monitored panel.