Post Edu Min’s resignation; BJP, HAM and JDU demand Tejashwi to step down over IRCTC scam

After JDU minister Mewalal Choudhary resigned over corruption charges levied on him, ex-Bihar CM Sushil Modi on Thursday, demanded Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav to resign from his post over the IRCTC scam. A similar demand has been made by JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) spokesperson Danish Rizwan - pointing out that Tejashwi who was named as one of the conspirators in the IRCTC scam, is out on bail. Choudhary resigned after severe criticism from the Opposition for the corruption cases against him during his tenure as the vice-chancellor of Bihar Agriculture University between 2010 and 2015.

NDA MLAs seek Tejashwi's resignation

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What is IRCTC scam?

In 2017, Tejashwi and his parents - Rabri Devi and Lalu Yadav were reportedly named as conspirators by the CBI in a land deal involving three acres of land in Patna which had been acquired by Lalu Yadav as a bribe for a contract to a private company to run hotels, during his tenure as Union Railways Minister in 2006. Yadav had allegedly acquired the land where a mall had been planned and first transferred it to the wife of an RJD MLA, then finally to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi at dirt-cheap prices, as per reports. With Lalu Yadav being convicted and sent to jail, Tejashwi and Rabri Devi were granted bail by a Delhi court. Incidentally, this was the case, which had led to Nitish Kumar demanding Tejashwi's resignation - failing which he broke away from the Mahagathbandhan.

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Mewalal Choudhary steps down

Three days after being sworn-in as Bihar's education minister, JDU MLA Mewalal Choudhary, resigned on Thursday, after CM Nitish Kumar asked him to do so. Mewalal Choudhary was booked in 2017 under IPC sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120B, for alleged discrepancies in the appointment of 167 assistant-cum-junior scientists at Bihar Agriculture University at Sabaur in Bhagalpur, while he was vice-chancellor of the university between 2010 and 2015. Replacing Mewalal, Governor Phagu Chouhan has appointed JD(U) Bihar chief Ashok Choudhary as education minister on CM Nitish Kumar's recommendation.

While Choudhary has dismissed the allegations against him, the Tarapur MLA has declared the same in his election affidavit. The RJD too slammed Choudhary for his defence, demanding Nitish Kumar to explain if a charge sheet will be filed by his government in this case. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav called Choudhary's resignation a farce, calling Nitish Kumar 'too tired to govern'. Nearly 70 percent of MLAs in Bihar’s newly elected assembly have criminal charges against their names, ranging from murder and attempt to murder to kidnapping and crime against women.

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Nitish Kumar's Cabinet

Apart from Nitish Kumar who was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the 7th time, 14 other Ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy on Monday. This includes 4-time BJP MLAs Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi who shall serve as the Deputy Chief Ministers of the state. While Kumar has retained the Home department, Prasad has been assigned the portfolios such as Finance, Commercial Taxes, IT, Disaster Management and Urban Development. On the other hand, Renu Devi will handle Panchayati Raj, Backward and Extremely Backward Class Welfare and Industry departments. NDA has won a wafer-thin majority of 125 seats compared to Mahagathbandhan's 110 seats in 2020 Bihar polls.

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