Bihar ally Upendra Kushwaha resigns from Modi Ministry

Bihar ally Upendra Kushwaha  resigns from Modi Ministry

New Delhi: Union minister and RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha has resigned from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s council of minister on Monday, 10^th December 2018 reports ANI. The move comes a day ahead of the Winter Session, capping months of sparring between Kushwaha and the BJP over seat sharing in Bihar for the Lok Sabha polls.


“Kushwaha will hold a press conference in Delhi at 2 pm to make the announcement,” RSLP spokesperson Fazal Imam Malik said, confirming the news.


The RLSP chief was quoted by ANI as saying that he would not be attending a meeting of NDA allies to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi today, ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament.


Kushwaha had last month set a deadline of November 30 for the BJP to make its stand on seat sharing clear, saying ““It would be very harmful for the NDA if a decision on seat-sharing is not taken soon. We must get a respectful number of seats.”


The RLSP, an ally of the BJP in the NDA in the 2014 elections, had won three seats in the general elections. The BJP had bagged 22 seats and the LJP, six. But, with the return of the JD(U) in the NDA last year after the Grand Alliance disintegrated, the equation has changed within the grouping this time.


Kushwaha has been upset with the BJP after it asserted that the RLSP would not be given more than two seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, even as it went out of way to accommodate Kumar by agreeing that the saffron party and the JD(U) would fight equal number of seats.


The RLSP may join hands with the opposition, which includes Lalu Prasad’s RJD and the Congress.


Bihar sends 40 MPs to Lok Sabha.

Bharat Bandh: Cabinet Minister Kushwaha Roughed up

Bharat Bandh: Cabinet Minister Kushwaha Roughed up

New Delhi: Union minister of state for HRD Upendra Kushwaha was on Tuesday,  10^th April 2018, manhandled by anti-reservation protesters in Bihar's Hajipur town.

The incident occurred while the union minister was on his way to Champaran, where the 100th anniversary of Champaran Satyagraha was to be honoured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by ushering in 'Swachhagraha'.

Kushwaha, who hails from OBC community, is the president of Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, which is an ally of the BJP.

Still recovering from the communal riots, Bihar was again pushed into a fresh bout of violence when anti-reservation protesters hit the streets against the earlier bandh called by Dalit organisations on April 2.

Muzaffarpur, Begusarai, Lakhisarai and Arrah have been badly hit. Pitched battles between anti and pro-reservation groups were reported from these districts.

In Muzaffarpur, policemen, including ASP, DSP, were chased away by angry mobs in Gobarsahi area.

In Arrah, protesters managed to stop a train.

In western UP's Saharanpur district, which is the headquarters of the Bhim Army, internet services were suspended at 7 pm on Monday. The district administration said internet services will be down for two days, till Wednesday, to avoid rumour mongering during the protests.

During the April 2 protests, Bhim Army supporters had occupied a 2 km stretch in the centre of Saharanpur, from Ghantagar Chowk to Kalpana Cinema. However, it was in the rural areas that some violence was witnessed. A police car had been vandalised by some protesters.

Other parts of western UP, including Muzaffarnagar and Baghpat, also suspended internet services. The Muzaffarnagar SSP said that they would contain "anti-social elements" on social media platforms as well and anyone inciting violence would be punished.

On April 2, protests had broken out across India against the alleged dilution of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 by the Supreme Court. Since then, Dalit outfits have been protesting the "unfair targeting" of Dalits after the April 2 protests turned violent.

Four BJP MPs from UP have written to the Prime Minister, claiming that cops were targeting Dalits. Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad Raavan has launched a hunger strike from Saharanpur district jail, where he is lodged under the National Security Act.