Wrap-up: Political upheaval — Home and abroad

Nitish shock singes Lalu
Nitish Kumar’s fresh stint as the Chief Minister came 48 hours after he left the Grand Secular Alliance and returned to the NDA fold. Mr. Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister for the sixth time on Thursday.

Nitish Kumar–led alliance with BJP won the floor test on Friday by 131 votes. This was preceded by a dramatic and acrimonious debate during which Mr. Kumar defended his decision to return to the NDA fold.

“I am in power to serve the people and not to make money out of it and I can’t be of any help to those who have come into politics to make money”. Mr. Kumar said during the debate inside the assembly before the floor test on Friday.

Nitish Kumar had resigned from his post on Wednesday on grounds that Lalu Yadav’s family repeatedly ignored his demand for a public explanation. The move had surprised everyone including the RJD and Congress which had formed a grand alliance just 20 months earlier hoping to rule Bihar for the full term of five years.

It was earlier reported that Nitish Kumar wanted Tejaswi Yadav to resign from the post of Deputy Chief Minister. However, after he resigned on Wednesday Mr. Kumar told reporters in Patna that he “just wanted Tejaswi Yadav to come clean on the corruption charges against him but he kept dodging. “It was getting difficult for me compromise and so I decided to leave the alliance,” he said.

There were rumors in the political circle that in the last few months Nitish Kumar had managed to get closer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Ignoring his allies he took a divergent stand on issues like a surgical strike, demonetization and recently on the presidential election by supporting BJP’s candidate Ram Nath Kovind.

Pak left sans Sharif, again
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Friday disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for dishonesty and ruled that corruption cases be filed against him and his children over the Panama Papers scandal, forcing the embattled leader out of office.

It is the third time that the 67-year-old veteran politician’s term as premier has been cut short. The much- awaited verdict plunged Pakistan into a political crisis at a time when the country is facing a brittle economy and a surge in militancy.

According to Pakistan media reports, senior PML-N leader and former petroleum minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will run the PML-N government as interim prime minister of Pakistan until Sharif’s brother Shahbaz is elected as member of parliament, 

As the unanimous verdict by the five-judge bench was read out by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan inside the packed courtroom 1 of the Supreme Court, a large number of opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers celebrated outside chanting the slogan, ‘Go, Nawaz, Go’. The court disqualified Sharif under Article 62 and 63 of Pakistan’s Constitution. The Articles state that a member of Parliament should be “truthful” and “righteous”.

The court verdict said that having furnished a false declaration under solemn affirmation, Sharif was “not honest” under terms of the Constitution. Sharif has maintained that there has not been any wrongdoing on his part. Following the court verdict, a spokesperson of Pakistan Muslims League Nawaz (PML-N) said in a statement that Sharif had stepped down as the Prime Minister. Despite reservations regarding different phases of the Panama case proceedings, the decision of the apex court will be implemented, the spokesperson said.